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THE UNITED NATIONS has said that the famine in Somalia is over – but the crisis in the Horn of Africa is not.
The UN made the announcement at the weekend, declaring an end of famine conditions in Somalia but warning that efforts to restore food security and “help people resume normal lives” are still needed.
At one point there were 4 million people in Somalia in need of emergency humanitarian assistance, a figure which has dropped to 2.3 million, said the UN. This represents 31 per cent of the country’s population.
On top of this, 325,000 Somalian children are acutely malnourished.
José Graziano da Silva, Director-General of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), told reporters that “long-awaited rains, coupled with substantial agricultural inputs and the humanitarian response deployed in the last six months, are the main reasons for this improvement.”
The drought that hit the Horn of Africa in 2011 led to tens of thousands of deaths, the UN reported, and 9.5 million people still require emergency assistance in Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti.
This is down from 13.3 million people in September 2011.
Almost 300,000 Somali refugees fled to Kenya, Ethopia, Djibouti and Yemen due to the crisis in the past year.
UN humanitarian chief Valerie Amos warned:
While sustained humanitarian efforts and a good harvest have helped to mitigate the crisis, we must not forget that the progress made is fragile.
Without continued and generous support from the international community, these gains could be reversed. Continued conflict and lack of access to people in need remain major operational challenges.
Mark Bowden, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Somila said that the country could “easily slip back” unless the current levels of support are maintained.
He also said that while the emergency assistance has helped to reduce the high levels of mortality, it has not “solved” the problems being experienced in the country.
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Im going to get awful abuse for this but in reality, do people not realise that the amount of money donated to these countries could have ended world hunger 10times over? If africa wasnt such a barbaric place, this wouldnt happen. All these problems there can only be resolved internally. No matter how much money is pumped into these countries, nothing will change as long as there are barbarians in charge!!
Agree totally Conor.. I hate to say it.. Year after year millions in foreign aid is pumped into these countries.. The governments don’t care as they know the money will keep on coming..
Ya, they should all go a “get a job”. Never forget that the West has built its economy on the backs of these countries. We support their corrupt barbarians in return for them giving away their resources to us for next to nothing, while in return we give them the crumbs of our table in return to look like we give a shit. Its a sick world we live in and we are equally to blame for the problems in Africa just as much as they are themselves.
Well said Harry. I watched Hotel Rwanda last night (so don’t get me started on UN) and said it’s hard to feel sorry for economic crises in USA and Europe now seeing as they carved Africa like they owned it.
Those straight lines on the map of Africa do my head in. Communities do not draw straight lines. Men do. Ain’t karma a bitch.
Jeez Conyvonnor. Were you the authors of this study? http://www.theonion.com/articles/new-study-finds-humans-may-have-some-capacity-for,27245/
All about the money is it? There was me thinking all these years Ireland had a famine because the natives were barbarians…
I’d love to know where you get your idea’s harry!! The world has helped enough only to be thanked in one way, by these greedy people wanting more and more. Why don’t they just rise up and change governments because in honesty, thats where their problems begin and end!! They have the resources to be a world power yet they claim to be poor. If they dont start helping themselves out of their mess, then no help, big or small, from the outside world will make any difference as we have seen since live aid!!
Well micheal-wicheal, where ever the fuck you learned how to spell names, why don’t you piss your money away into these so called “helpfull” charities where the chairmen and presidents of the same charities are on salaries close to a million a year. Ye are the gombeens been taken for a ride. Im a realist, ill say it how it is. If africans dont help themselves then outside help wont matter in the slightest!!
And you started off so tentatively, conor, almost apologetically, like you were going to put yourself out there, ready to take a good red thumbing to let us know the truth. The gloves are certainly off now….
We piss even more money away paying back heartless bondholders and banks, and that’s the problem… we don’t rise up and do something about it!!! How the hell do you expect people that are half dead from hunger to “rise up” and rebel against armed militias? Where do I get my ideas? Perhaps its obvious is it not? The likes of “The World Trade Organisation” ensure that the African farmers get as little as possible for their produce on the open market through trade embargoes. Its easy to blame it on the machete wielding gorillas you see on the news, because that’s what “they” want you to think and never look inwards at ourselves as been the most considerable factor in the mess that is Africa.
Conor I agree. Somalia has an awful lack of governance with Islamic militia men holding the country and it’s people to ransom .when you look at countries with such fertile land like Zinbabwe relying on aid you have to ask what is really going on. Sometimes I wonder if all aid was cut for five years African governments would react and become pro active in growing sufficient food
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