Major boost for war on hunger
Assistance to the starving in the Horn of Africa has shot up as aid is rushed in to ease the crisis.
The renewed urgency comes after the UN and the British Government admitted that the international community had been slow in confronting the drought in the Horn.
“Do I wish all of us had reacted more quickly? Of course! Since all of us have been a little late in reacting, we have to work hard on it and combine our efforts with long-term ones that will help deal with what is a systematic problem so that it does not become a perpetual crisis in the years ahead,” Unicef executive director Anthony Lake told journalists in Nairobi last week.
US, Australia, United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Italy are among countries aiding an estimated 10 million starving people in Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia and Djibouti.
Somali refugees
Up to 400,000 Somali refugees have into Kenya due to the drought and insecurity in their strife-torn country.
This has created a crisis at the Dadaab camp designed to hold 90,000 refugees.
Yesterday, the US Government announced an additional Sh2.52 billion ($28 million) in aid for Somali people and for Somali refugees in Kenya.
This is in addition to the Sh34.5 billion ($383 million) the Obama administration has spent this year.
“Crops in the Horn of Africa have failed, livestock has died and food prices are skyrocketing. In Somalia, 20 years without a central government and the relentless terrorism by al Shabaab against its own people has turned a severe situation into a dire one.
“We remain cautiously optimistic that al Shabaab will permit unimpeded assistance in famine-struck areas,” US secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a statement.
Mrs Clinton said the US was working to help more than 11 million people in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia besides finding a lasting solution to the perennial Horn crisis.
She called on more donors to come forward and “commit to taking additional steps to tackle both immediate assistance needs and strengthen capacity in the region to respond to future crises”.
The Australian Government said it had raised its assistance by Sh2.7 billion ($30 million) for food and shelter to the millions of malnourished women and children. This brings Australia’s contribution to Sh3.8 ($41.2 million) after last week’s Sh1.1 billion grant.
The Dutch have given Sh1.8 billion (15 million Euros), according to Dr Ben Knapen, the minister for Development Cooperation.
Drought victims
The British government has announced a Sh7.5 billion ($84.23 million) new package for drought victims, while Italy has granted Kenya Sh37.8 million ($422,100) to help feed the hungry, the embassy said in Nairobi on Thursday.
The British Secretary for International Development, Mr Andrew Mitchell, announced last week that Britain would be hosting a major private meeting called Tide Water, which will seek to find a solution to the perennial problem.
