Worsening drought conditions in the Horn
of Africa seem set to cause a famine even greater than that of 1984-85,
aid agency World Vision warned today.
The failure of rains in March on top
of sporadic and insufficient rainfall over the last two years have brought
millions of people in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia and northern Kenya to
the brink of famine.
Despite pre-emptive measures undertaken over the last six months, the failure of international donors to meet their pledges to supply food aid for the region means the crisis looks set to eclipse the capacity of aid agencies to respond unless a major international effort is undertaken in the next eight weeks.
"Ethiopia is by far the worst country affected with 7.7 million people currently facing severe food shortages," says World Vision Australia's emergency relief manager, Mr Dan Kelly.
"The potential for a humanitarian crisis on an enormous scale has been exacerbated by ongoing conflict and insecurity in the region. Most notable is the ongoing border conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia which looks set to hamper aid efforts in the coming months by denying the use of vital ports along, and roads from, Eritrea's Red Sea coast."
World Vision has launched an emergency appeal and is asking for Australians to make donations to assist with the agency's relief programs in the Horn of Africa.
"World Vision has been preparing over the last six months to respond to the needs of affected populations in Ethiopia by monitoring early-warning indicators, pre-positioning personnel and supplies, undertaking emergency food deliveries and making regular assessments of food security in the agency's project areas.
"In northern Kenya's Turkana and Wajir districts, World Vision has been operating an emergency relief program for the last four months providing food aid to affected rural communities."
However, Mr Kelly says one of the greatest obstacles to responding effectively to the crisis in the Horn of Africa will be the speed with which the crisis will become suddenly apparent to the world, despite months of early-warning indicators, and aid agency pre-planning.
"It is a reality of the news media that an actual famine will be news while a potential famine is not. This is understandable, but to the consumers of the media, the crisis in the Horn of Africa will seem to appear from nowhere.
"Compassion fatigue is an artificial construct. The capacity for people in Australia to respond to a given crisis depends on how well informed they are. The role the media plays as the arbiter of information about this crisis will be paramount. In recent years, Australians have been overwhelmingly supportive of appeals for East Timor, Kosovo and Papua New Guinea. This crisis should be no different."
WORLD VISION HORN OF AFRICA DROUGHT APPEAL - CALL 13 32 40
Dan Kelly is available for interview
from Melbourne.
MEDIA CONTACT: Jim Wackett +612 9877 0074 (wackettj@wva.org.au)