Time for Action on Horn of Africa
When you hear the statistics that 13 million people are affected by the drought in Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia and the UN proclaiming that around 750,000 people could die in the next 3 months in Somalia if aid isn’t massively increased what do you think?
As Valerie Amos the head of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said this morning in New York “behind every statistic is a human face it’s a child, it’s a woman, it’s a man”. This was at the launch of A Charter to End Extreme Hunger, a new initiative by humanitarian NGOs and civil society to ask governments to make sure that famine does not happen again.
Kenyan Prime Minister Raila Odinga became the first world leader to endorse and sign the Charter, he said: “We should never allow people to starve, sometimes to death, because of famine which is preventable.”
The Chair Michael Elliot of the One campaign highlighted that this Charter was born from anger. Sir Bob urged other countries to follow Kenya’s lead saying: “There is no reason for leaders – however mighty – not to sign. What possible objection could there be?”
We at Channel 16 agree which is why we’re supporting campaign and we ask you to do the same. Sign up for Channel 16 for more actions you can take in the future.
The Charter itself highlights action that needs to be taken to prevent this happening again in five key areas:
- Responding early – in East Africa we knew the drought was coming and action came too late.
- Supporting local food production. Governments must make sure local food producers are protected against price and environmental shocks
- Making food affordable. Against a backdrop of spiralling food and oil prices, basic foods have become unaffordable. Governments must act to protect populations against food price spikes
- Protecting the poorest and most vulnerable: governments should build social safety nets and invest fairly to help the poorest
- Reducing armed conflict: widespread starvation is often associated with violence. Governments should commit to providing access to humanitarian aid, and engage in vigorous diplomacy to end conflict.
The Charter has been drafted and endorsed by groups including: ActionAid, Merlin, Oxfam, Islamic Aid, Christian Aid, The Eastern Africa Civil Society Forum, CAFOD, Tearfund, International Medical Corps, Channel 16, Eastern & Southern Africa Farmers’ Forum, International Rescue Committee, Muslim Aid, The Legal Resources Foundation, ADRA International, ONE, Plan International, Save the Children, West African Civil Society Forum, World Vision.