East Africa hunger crisis
- Emily
- Feb 17, 2019
- 2 min read
Why is famine always seeming to be a threat for the people of East Africa? Hunger is a prevalent and recurring problem because of instability caused by conflict, political issues, droughts, and flooding. While people are fleeing their homes to escape violence and turmoil, the number of crops brought to markets drop drastically and then cause prices to rise.
A staggering 40 percent of children in sub-Saharan Africa are malnourished; they lack the nutrients for normal physical and intellectual development. In addition, the lack of food, water, and shelter set the scene for infectious diseases such as acute watery diarrhea or cholera; in 2017 the World Health Organization reported 131,000 cases of these dangerous diseases in East Africa. Young children are especially vulnerable because they have weak and underdeveloped immune systems due to malnutrition.
At the beginning of last year, from February to May, rains flooded Somalia, Sudan, Ethiopia, and Kenya, washing away precious crops and livestock. More problematically, rain makes it extremely difficult for transporting food and providing aid to those in need. During the rainy season, 60 percent of the country’s roads are impassable. As a result, The Famine Early Warning System announced that severe food insecurity would last through the end of 2018. About six million people are displaced with nothing to fill their insatiable hunger.
Military conflict has also made it hard for aid agencies to help. In parts of Southern Sudan, armed actors have acted aggressively towards civilians who have received aid. United Nations Agencies have tried to bring in necessary resources when they can, but they do not want resources to go into the hands of groups that use violence to achieve their goals. For example, in Somalia, there is a militant group known as Al-Shabaab that is associated with Al-Qaeda.
Moreover, legislation in southern Somalia hinders work done by humanitarian organizations, as work in those areas is penalized. Organizations like the UN, World Food Program, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, have all tried to alleviate the crisis, but the help has yet to be sufficient. For example, in Somaliland, about 8,000 families have been aided by the World Food Program while 300,000 families are still in need.
The results of droughts, floods, and conflicts are massive and require large-scale help. There also needs to be consistent help because serious droughts hit East Africa every five to six years. The world should be prepared for these and be ready to act as scientists predict that droughts may become more severe due to factors associated with accelerating climate change.
Although many of us are fortunate enough to never worry about not having food or clean water, it is important to help those that are forced into unacceptable living standards. You can donate to World Vision, an organization that has worked for four decades to bring emergency aid and long-term assistance to people in East Africa. Your donation will be more valuable because each donation is multiplied by 11 due to grant funds.
You can also sponsor a child in Africa to change their life forever by sending encouraging letters and photos. Through this program, sponsored children will be able to feel cared for and protected in their communities.
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