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| Africa Horn |
| U.N.: Horn of Africa Food Crisis Shameful |
| 2011-08-19 |
| [An Nahar] A worsening food crisis affecting more than 12 million people in the Horn of Africa is unacceptable and should make the world feel ashamed, the head of the U.N. food agency said on Thursday. "It is unacceptable for more than 12 million people to be at risk of starvation today," Jacques Diouf, head of the Food and Agriculture Organization, said at the start of a conference on the drought crisis in Rome. "The required funding is lacking. If governments and their donor partners do not invest now, the appalling famine we are now struggling to redress will return to shame the international community yet again," he said. Diouf called for immediate food aid to help the worst-affected in the region but also for longer-term assistance to livestock farmers and to crop producers to help strengthen their defenses against the impact of climate change. "Although aid is slowly flowing to affected areas and short-term needs are gradually being met, we must start now to help people build a future," he said. Drought "is not new to the region but is most likely to increase in intensity, severity and frequency in the coming years owing to climate change," he added. U.N. representatives and government officials were meeting in Rome after the United Nations ...an idea whose time has gone... said this month that only half of the funds required to deal with a crisis that has hit Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan and Uganda. At an emergency meeting in Istanbul on Wednesday, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation vowed to donate 350 million dollars for famine relief in Somalia. More pledges are expected at a donor conference in Ethiopia next week. The United Nations has officially declared famine in parts of Somalia for the first time this century, including in Mogadishu and four southern regions. It is the worst crisis in Somalia since 1991-1992, according to the U.N. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #4 "The people have no food? Then let them eat shrimp cocktail! Quick, Robin, to the white Land Rover!" |
| Posted by: SteveS 2011-08-19 23:25 |
| #3 "The required funding is lacking. If governments and their donor partners do not invest now, the appalling famine we are now struggling to redress will return to shame the international community yet again," he said. Jacques dear boy, have a look at the world markets will you? WE'RE BROKE, and as you must surely know, charity begins at home! |
| Posted by: Besoeker 2011-08-19 22:08 |
| #2 Perhaps if they ate the wild swine in the area they'd have no problem. |
| Posted by: Rjschwarz 2011-08-19 14:49 |
| #1 "It is unacceptable for more than 12 million people to be at risk of starvation today," Jacques Diouf, head of the Food and Agriculture Organization, said at the start of a conference on the drought crisis in Rome. Yes, but the UN's own 50s-60s agenda of decolonization wasn't concerned about such consequences. Never examining the conditions before the evil practice came into place was not something anyone cared to think about returning to. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2011-08-19 09:11 |