The underlying structural problems affecting food production in Africa must be addressed if we are to break the cycle of famine there, writes Tom Kitt.
An estimated 28 million people will be affected by the current food shortages in the Horn of Africa and southern Africa. In Africa generally at least 38 million are at risk. This is an unfolding disaster unprecedented in its scale and extent.
There are many reasons for the severity of the disaster, but the HIV/AIDS pandemic is casting a long shadow over this famine. It has devastated the continent and has undermined the coping strategies of individual families, communities and entire countries. It has made the task of responding to food security issues immensely more difficult and complex. Shifting weather patterns, civil strife and matters relating to governance and economic policy have also played roles in this crisis.
The growing food shortages in the Horn of Africa first came to the world's attention in the middle of the year, when poor rains led to widespread livestock deaths and harvest failure across much of the region.
According to a recently published joint UN and Ethiopian government assessment, the effects of drought in Ethiopia, exacerbated by chronic food insecurity, are threatening the lives of nearly 11.3 million people. Over 1.4 million metric tonnes of food aid will be required in 2003 to avert famine there.
In Eritrea a joint government-UN appeal estimates that 2.3 million Eritreans, almost two-thirds of the population, will need food assistance next year. Sudan and Somalia continue to suffer from chronic food shortages. This situation is exacerbated by conflict and general insecurity in the region. High levels of malnutrition amongst children are now manifesting themselves. People are selling off personal belongings in a desperate attempt to buy food.
The food situation in southern Africa is also critical. Some 14 million people remain at risk of starvation in Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe. The World Food Programme (WFP) is feeding an additional 1.8 million people in Angola.
There are some indications that the situation will deteriorate early in the New Year as coping strategies are pushed to the limit. This is when the traditional season of scarcity reaches its height. Many people are reportedly already resorting to eating immature green maize and seeds.
I witnessed this unfolding southern African tragedy when I visited Malawi and Zambia in August this year. More recently, I sent a senior official to Zimbabwe to speak to missionaries and NGOs working on the ground in order to get a more accurate picture of the prevailing situation. Our missions in Zambia, Lesotho and Mozambique are closely monitoring food shortages in those countries.
The prognosis is not good. The WFP and Food and Agriculture Organisation estimate a four million tonne cereal shortfall, of which about a million tonnes will be required for 14 million people as food aid.
Ireland Aid responds in two ways to such humanitarian crises. In the short term it is imperative to save lives in the most effective way possible, through direct assistance on the ground and through political intervention at international level in order to accelerate a co-ordinated donor response. In the long term it is necessary to tackle the structural reasons that underlie food insecurity.
I have maintained close dialogue with our NGO partners on the emerging crisis. Following a meeting with Irish NGOs I announced on November 18th a €2 million food assistance package for Ethiopia. This brought Irish Government assistance for emergency and humanitarian relief for the Horn of Africa to over €7 million this year. Funding covering Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia and Sudan has been allocated to key international agencies such as the WFP as well as Irish and international NGOs.
I also sent a mission to Ethiopia three weeks ago to co-ordinate the Irish Government's humanitarian operation with other donors, the UN and the NGO community.
Next month I will travel to Ethiopia to see the situation at first hand and to discuss the impact of the famine with all the key players in the relief effort. I will examine the possibility of further assistance in light of these discussions.
We have delivered €9 million in emergency assistance to southern Africa in 2002. During my visit to the region in August, I witnessed at first hand the life-saving work of missionaries and NGO development workers as they sought to help the most vulnerable.
Our humanitarian support is complemented by political action. I have been working closely with our partners in the European Union and the United Nations to develop strategies on how immediate food needs can best be met at national and regional level. The scale of the problem is so large, and the situation has deteriorated so rapidly, that we must have a major and co-ordinated response. Words can become devalued by constant repetition. However, this famine is unprecedented and our response must also be unprecedented.
I have discussed the food crises in Africa with my British counterpart Clare Short and with the WFP's deputy executive director, who visited Ireland recently.
THE alleviation of poverty in Africa was one of the central themes addressed by Ireland at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg last September.
If we are to break the cyclical nature of famine and starvation in Africa, the underlying structural problems affecting food production must be addressed. The reasons for what sometimes seem the never-ending food crises in Africa are complex. There are, of course, climatic reasons for sudden drops in food production. Too little rain, too much rain or changing patterns of rain can have detrimental effects on crop and food production. However, there are also structural reasons for systemic food shortages. These include, inter alia, weak markets, poor governance, poor transport, weak agricultural extension, traditional land tenure systems and poor resource management, leading to land degradation.
The HIV/AIDS pandemic has also played a major role in the severity of the crisis. It has undermined the ability of individuals, families, communities and countries to cope with and survive food insecurity. Lack of food in itself may also expose individuals to coping mechanisms that expose them and their families to the risk of HIV infection.
Ireland Aid has strong development partnerships with six countries in sub-Saharan Africa. Through these partnerships Ireland Aid fully engages with the governments and donors on the basis of poverty reduction strategies. The poverty reduction strategy plans clearly indicate how each country prioritises resources and policies with the objective of reducing poverty. This comprehensive and African-owned approach by donors, governments and civil societies stands the best chance of reversing the downward spiral of economic and social indicators in sub-Saharan Africa. This is not an easy challenge but one we are wholly committed to.
Tom Kitt is Minister of State at the Department of Foreign Affairs