livestock |
The most affected
areas, which received less than half of their normal seasonal rainfall,
are central and southern Somalia, South-Eastern Ethiopia, northern and
eastern Kenya, northern Tanzania and north-eastern and South-Western
Uganda, according to a new alert by the UN Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO).
The alert, issued
on 14 July by FAO's Global Information and Early Warning System (GIEWS),
warns that the third consecutive failed rainy season has seriously
eroded families' resilience, and urgent and effective livelihood support
is required.
"We can prevent
people dying from famine but if we do not scale up our efforts to save,
protect and invest in rural livelihoods, tens of millions will remain
severely food insecure." - FAO chief
"This is the third
season in a row that families have had to endure failed rains - they are
simply running out of ways to cope," said FAO's Director of Emergencies
Dominique Burgeon. "Support is needed now before the situation rapidly
deteriorates further."
Increasing Humanitarian Need
The number of
people in need of humanitarian assistance in the five aforementioned
countries, currently estimated at about 16 million, has increased by
about 30 per cent since late 2016. In Somalia, almost half of the total
population is food insecure, the UN specialised body reported.
Timely humanitarian
assistance has averted famine so far but must be sustained. Conditions
across the region are expected to further deteriorate in the coming
months with the onset of the dry season and an anticipated early start
of the lean season, it added.
The food security
situation for pastoralists is of particular concern, in Ethiopia, Kenya
and Somalia, where animal mortality rates are high and milk production
from the surviving animals has declined sharply with negative
consequences on food security and nutrition, FAO warned.
"When we know how
critical milk is for the healthy development of children aged under
five, and the irreversible damage its lack can create, it is evident
that supporting pastoralists going through this drought is essential,"
said Burgeon.
Poor Crop Prospects
On this, FAO provides the following detailed information:
In several cropping
areas across the region, poor rains have caused sharp reductions in
planting, and wilting of crops currently being harvested. Despite some
late rainfall in May, damage to crops is irreversible.
In addition, fall
armyworm, which has caused extensive damage to maize crops in southern
Africa, has spread to the east and has worsened the situation. In Kenya,
the pest has so far affected about 200 000 hectares of crops, and in
Uganda more than half the country's 111 districts are affected.
In Somalia there
are unfavourable prospects for this year's main gu crops, after the gu
rains were late with poor rainfall and erratic distribution over most
areas of the country.
In Ethiopia,
unfavourable belg rains in southern cropping areas are likely to result
in localized cereal production shortfalls. Drought is also affecting
yields in Kenya's central, Southeastern and coastal areas.
In Tanzania,
unfavourable rains are likely to result in localized cereal production
shortfalls in northern and central areas; while in Uganda there are
unfavourable production prospects are unfavourable for first season
crops in the Southwestern and northern districts.
108 Million People Face Severe Acute Food Insecurity
Meanwhile, despite
international efforts to address food insecurity, around 108 million
people living in 48 food-crisis countries were at high risk of or
already facing severe acute food insecurity in 2016, a dramatic increase
compared with 80 million in 2015, according to a new global report on
food crises released on 31 March in Brussels.
The report, whose
compilation required integrating several measurement methodologies,
represents a new and politically innovative collaboration between the
European Union (EU) and USAID/FEWSNET, regional food security
institutions together with UN agencies including the FAO, the World Food
Programme (WFP) and the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
"The dramatic
increase reflects the trouble people have in producing and accessing
food due to conflict, record-high food prices in local markets in
affected countries and extreme weather conditions such drought and
erratic rainfall caused by El Niño. "
Civil conflict is
the driving factor in nine of the 10 worst humanitarian crises,
underscoring the strong linkage between peace and food security, says
the Global Report on Food Crises 2017.
By joining forces
to deliver neutral analytical insights drawn from multiple institutions,
the report - to be issued annually - enables better-informed planning
decisions to respond to food crises in a more timely, global and
coordinated way.
"This report
highlights the critical need for prompt and targeted action to
effectively respond to the food crises and to address their root causes.
The EU has taken leadership in this response. In 2016, we allocated €
550 million already, followed by another € 165 million that we have just
mobilized to assist the people affected by famine and drought in the
Horn of Africa," said Neven Mimica, EU Commissioner for International
Cooperation and Development.
"The report is the
outcome of a joint effort and a concrete follow-up to the commitments
the EU made at the World Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul, which
identified the urgent need for transparent, independent but
consensus-based analysis of crises," added Christos Stylianides,
Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Management.
Most Critical Situations Worsening
This year, the
demand for humanitarian and resilience building assistance will further
escalate as four countries are at risk of famine: South Sudan, Somalia,
Yemen and northeast Nigeria, the report warns.
Other countries
that require massive levels of assistance because of widespread food
insecurity are Iraq, Syria (including refugees in neighbouring
countries) Malawi and Zimbabwe. In the absence of immediate and
substantive action not only to save people's lives, but also to pull
them back from the brink of famine, the food security situation in these
countries will continue to worsen in coming months, according to the
report.
"The cost in human
and resource terms only increases if we let situations deteriorate,"
said FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva. "We can prevent people
dying from famine but if we do not scale up our efforts to save,
protect and invest in rural livelihoods, tens of millions will remain
severely food insecure."
"The numbers tell a
deeply worrying story with more than 100 million people severely
food-insecure, a level of suffering which is driven by conflict and
climate change. Hunger exacerbates crisis, creating ever -greater
instability and insecurity. What is a food security challenge today
becomes tomorrow's security challenge," said Ertharin Cousin, Executive
Director of the World Food Programme.
"It is a race
against time - the world must act now to save the lives and livelihoods
of the millions at the brink of starvation."
The 108 million
people reported to be facing severe food insecurity in 2016 represent
those suffering from higher-than-usual acute malnutrition and a broad
lack of minimally adequate food even with external assistance.
This includes
households that can cope with their minimum food needs only by depleting
seeds, livestock and agricultural assets needed to produce food in the
future, the report adds.
"Without robust and
sustained action, people struggling with severe food insecurity risk
slipping into an even worse situation and eventual starvation."
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