A major issue that became apparent in East Africa in 2011
was the world’s worst food crisis is felt in Ethiopia, Somalia, and Kenya.
Although there have been successful rains for crops to be grown, these
successful rains are being looked at as failed rains which were manmade and
could have been avoided. Both the international community and local governments
were aware that a crisis was about to happen but both did little to stop it.
Along with this is the high price of food, which is out of the reach of many
civilians plus the conflict and hostile disputes stretching into Somalia. The
International Community Oxfam described that 12 million people are in need of
food, clean water, and basic sanitation. I picked this issue because the crisis
is not focused in one single country in African but in multiple, along with the
fact that this crisis could have been avoided or at least toned down.
But why
should people care about this? When millions of people are being affected by
the same cause it is clear that the international community needs to respond.
The world had an opportunity to save thousands of lives in parts of Somalia if
small donations were made revolving around famine, which had been predicted
eight months before the crisis. At the current rate around 3,500 people are
fleeing Somalia per day towards Ethiopia and Kenya, which has been stricken with
one of the driest years in six decades.
Currently
Kenya is operating under a semi-presidential democratic republic while Ethiopia
operates under a federal parliamentary republic. Both countries have power
either under a prime minister, president, or the government. In either case the
high powers within the governments could take action to stop the influx of Somalia’s
civilians leaving them with little or no options. Although I find that none of
these countries as associated with a resource curse, rentier effect, or
modernization effect, the fact that famine is currently hitting all of East
Africa is a scary thought. In order for these countries to avoid future famine
attacks certain actions need to be put in place: Help from the international
community, rehabilitation of water points, increased veterinary services
targeting dry season grazing areas, nutrition support programs, and increase
food security.
"East
Africa Food Crisis 2011." - Global Issues. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Nov.
2012. <http://www.globalissues.org/article/796/east-africa-food-crisis>.
"Kenya
Profile." BBC News. BBC, 26 Sept. 2012. Web. 23 Nov. 2012.
<http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-13681341>.
"Background
Note: Ethiopia." U.S. Department of State. U.S. Department of
State, n.d. Web. 23 Nov. 2012.
<http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2859.htm>.
I like that you mentioned that the problem could have been less severe because political problems also intensified the drought and famine. Had there been stronger political structure in East Africa and stronger infrastructure, the people would have been able to deal with the famine easier. I also agree that the solution will come from investment in water and agriculture programs, rather than just donating to the people.
ReplyDeleteI watched a documentary recently about the incredible destitution in African countries. A lot of the vast problems could be solved simply without directly handing foreign aid to the government. One of the main problems in famine is improper farming techniques and lack of enriched fertilizer. In the documentary, a farm had drastically improve its crops in a period of six months just with the acquiring of better fertilizer and farming instruction. If this was applied to more than just one country, it could vastly improve the problem of famine.
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