Famine risk in Horn of Africa
2008-12-04 21:11
Poznan - The hunger crisis in the
Horn of Africa is getting worse and could tip into famine if the
next harvest fails, the head of the International Federation of
Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said on Thursday.
UN food aid is not reaching enough places affected by
drought, and the Red Cross has decided to boost its response in
the region urgently, IFRC secretary-general Bekele Geleta told
Reuters in an interview at UN climate change talks in Poland.
"The situation is deteriorating ... If the next harvest goes
bad, it can very easily lead to famine," said Geleta, himself
from Ethiopia.
Food production across the Horn of Africa has suffered
because of poor rains while global food prices have risen.
In
Somalia, fighting between the government and Islamists has left
millions hungry. Conflict also affects parts of Ethiopia.
$1.4bn needed
In September, the United Nations estimated that nearly 17
million people were in urgent need of food and other aid across
the Horn of Africa, with donors having contributed only half
the $1.4bn needed to feed them for the rest of the year.
The Red Cross said it had identified 600 000 people in
remote areas of Ethiopia without access to food.
It said it also
planned to provide food and water to a further 400 000 people in
Djibouti, Somalia and Kenya.
"We learned that the food situation is getting worse and
worse, and that the reach of the (UN) World Food Programme is
not really good enough - probably because they have not had
sufficient response to their appeal," Geleta said.
The Red Cross has joined forces with UN agencies at the
December 1-12 climate change talks in Poland to urge governments to
do more to reduce the risk of climate-related disasters.
Geleta said global warming was a factor in the worsening
droughts and floods affecting the Horn of Africa over the past
three decades, and more must be done to protect people.