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Only four heads of state presidents of Somalia, Djibouti, Equitatorial Guinea, and Ethiopias prime minister were present at the African Unions much-delayed pledging conference on the Horn of Africa crisis. In a statement, the AU said it raised more than $378 million, $20 million of which was in-kind. Jerry Rawlings, former president of Ghana, hailed the conference as message to the world that we are not incapable of supporting our own.
The need for Africa to take charge of its own future summed up in the mantra African solutions for African problems" has become a unifying call for African leaders these days, and a rebuke to richer Western nations to butt out. South Africa is among the most vocal of those African nations pushing for African-led solutions, and the most critical of Western intervention, from Ivory Coast to Libya.
But the relatively paltry aid response for the Horn of Africa just $65 million in donations from AU nations, while the rest came from the UN-funded African Development Bank in Tunis raises questions about just how serious African leaders are about putting their ambitious words into action. The African Development Bank receives funding from its 53 African member nations, as well as from richer nations such as the US, Britain, Canada, China, Germany, and France.
Somalia welcomed the money pledged at the AU summit. South Africas foreign affairs spokesperson, Clayson Monyela, said he was not in a position to comment on how much South Africa had actually pledged. He pointed out that South Africa had donated R8 million ($1.2 million) and provided other forms of support to Gift of the Givers, a non-profit organization that pooled together donations from South African citizens and businesses.
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The drought and famine currently rippling through east Africa has shown no signs of slowing. With governments, businesses and people around the world ramping up relief efforts, the World Bank has also decided to intervene. A team of technical experts on emergency disaster recovery recently wrapped up a mission to assess the needs of the people and governments of East Africa. The team reviewed the humanitarian situation, the efforts to alleviate the situation, and the various drought prevention mechanisms already in place.
After concluding the mission, the World Bank has announced it will contribute $39 million to help fill gaps it found in the various drought and famine response efforts. Johannes Zutt is the World Bank Country Director for Kenya and Somalia. "We have decided to do a few things: one is to provide some emergency financing to Somalia for the U.N. system to help support the livelihoods of Somalis in south-central Somalia," said Zutt. "We are also going to provide about $30 million to support the purchase of medical supplies and water supplies for the two refugee camps in Dolo Ado, Ethiopia and Dadaab, Kenya."
In addition to providing assistance to address region's immediate needs, the World Bank is looking at ways to improve the long-term livelihoods of people living in drought-prone areas, specifically in Kenya. As part of their mission, the World Bank team visited Kenya's hardest-hit areas such as Turkana and parts of North Eastern Province. The team met with local residents as well as national and local government officials to determine what infrastructure existed to guard against drought. The team concluded that shoring up existing water pipelines and reservoirs, improving environmental management systems, and improving rural infrastructure would provide effective shields against future natural disasters.
According to Zutt, the World Bank is also looking at ways to diversify and reform pastoralist community activities, to make them less vulnerable to drought. "If you go up to places like Dadaab, to Mandera, you'll see that sheep and goats have eaten shoots of vegetation all the way down to the ground and that is resulting in expanding desertification," added Zutt. "What needs to happen is that animal populations need to be better controlled." The World Bank hopes to contribute $87 million to these longer-term projects under its Crisis Response Window program. The $87 million is part of $250 million the World Bank hopes to deliver to the region for drought relief. The Crisis Response Window program is subject to approval by the World Bank Board of Executive Directors, which is expected to reach a decision in September.
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At the same time, donations to appeals to bring food, water, medicine and shelter to those most at risk are slowing down.
There are now 13.3 million people in Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti who need urgent assistance, up from 12.4 million, according to new UN data.
Only 63 per cent of the UN's $US2.5 billion ($A2.4 billion) appeal to provide humanitarian assistance to the Horn of Africa has been financed. The crisis, which developed after three successive years of failed rains and accelerated as food prices soared and livestock died, is hitting Somalia hardest.
Famine victims soar
The World Bank Saturday said it is increasing aid to the region to $1.88 billion, which includes $500 million already allocated to relief efforts. World Bank President Robert Zoellick said the goal is to help victims of the current drought and help make the region more resilient, so it can avoid the ravages of future natural disasters.
The World Bank estimates more than 13 million people in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Uganda are in need of immediate aid. It also says international appeals have so far fallen about $1 billion short of what is needed. The bank plans to deliver the aid in three phases. Its says the first $288 million will be used to deliver emergency relief between now and June 30, 2012.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner praised the World Bank effort in remarks Saturday to the International Monetary Fund Development Committee in Washington. Geithner also said future investments in agriculture should be designed to help protect farmers and communities in these areas from future shocks. He said 2 million of those threatened by the current drought in the Horn of Africa are children.
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A leading Kenyan economist thinks that foreign aid is at least partially to blame for the drought and poverty that plague the continent. Apparently, government officials concentrate solely towards getting more aid, rather than boosting their production and ending poverty for themselves.
Economist Blames Aid for Africa Famine
A leading Kenyan economist thinks that foreign aid is at least partially to blame for the drought and poverty that plague the continent. Apparently, government officials concentrate solely towards getting more aid, rather than boosting their production and ending poverty for themselves.
Economist Blames Aid for Africa Famine
That is because aid goes to violent partisan rebel groups that don't give two shits about the "civilians" that want nothing to do with them or other partisan groups..
Most of the aid does absolutely nothing for the "citizens."
All that shit funds war...
That's like a homeless guy saying 'If only you hadn't helped me, it would have motivated me to help myself.' It's just an excuse. You can't blame a generous person for a needy person's lack of motivation. Generosity is right, and laziness is wrong; if a wrong cancels out a right, you can't blame the right. You're telling me that if we stopped offering humanitarian aid, those governments would get their act together?
A leading Kenyan economist thinks that foreign aid is at least partially to blame for the drought and poverty that plague the continent. Apparently, government officials concentrate solely towards getting more aid, rather than boosting their production and ending poverty for themselves.
Economist Blames Aid for Africa Famine
That is because aid goes to violent partisan rebel groups that don't give two shits about the "civilians" that want nothing to do with them or other partisan groups..
Most of the aid does absolutely nothing for the "citizens."
All that shit funds war...
Agreed, on all points. Foreign aid has just perpetuated the misery that aid was supposed to relieve over the short term. All we (the developed world) have been doing is give the third world painkillers while we ignore tackling the disease itself.
Let's just hope no-one shrieks "racist" at the obvious.
A leading Kenyan economist thinks that foreign aid is at least partially to blame for the drought and poverty that plague the continent. Apparently, government officials concentrate solely towards getting more aid, rather than boosting their production and ending poverty for themselves.
Economist Blames Aid for Africa Famine
