Hunger crisis in the Horn of Africa 2011

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Affected countries

The 2011 East Africa drought threatened international organizations, according to about 11.5 million people (including 760,000 refugees) in Somalia (3.7 million), Ethiopia (4.8 million), Kenya (2.9 million) and Djibouti (164,000 ). Eritrea and other East African countries were also affected by the hunger crisis , but no reliable data are available for these areas.

According to the UN Children's Fund UNICEF , over two million children in the region are malnourished, 500,000 of them "in a life-threatening condition". Compared to 2009 it is an increase of 50 percent. The United Nations speaks of “one of the worst droughts in 60 years”. António Guterres , the UN refugee commissioner , described the situation in July 2011 as "the worst humanitarian catastrophe in the world". At the end of the same month, the United Nations World Food Program began an airlift to Somalia.

In Somalia alone, the crisis between October 2010 and April 2012 killed almost 260,000 people.

Causes and history

Dead cattle in Somaliland , March 2011

The region around the Horn of Africa has been hit by severe hunger crises several times over the past few decades. The famine in Somalia 1974–1975 resulted in the deaths of 1,500 people and millions of head of cattle. Ten years later, a catastrophic drought in Ethiopia and political inactivity killed up to a million people. The famine in Somalia in the early 1990s was caused by fighting and looting as part of the Somali civil war, as well as a prolonged drought . Another hunger crisis in 2006 hit mainly cattle breeders in northeast Kenya, southern Somalia, southern and eastern Ethiopia and Djibouti.

The hunger crisis of 2011 was essentially triggered by the fact that two seasonal rainy seasons (the short rainy season from September to December; the main rainy season from March to July) brought very little rainfall. The 2010/2011 growing season was thus one of the driest since 1950/51. The short rainy season was one of the lowest rainfall in history. In some areas this was the second or third light rainy season in a row. In December there were crop failures in the marginal areas of the Horn and the condition of the livestock deteriorated. This worsened food shortages.

Precipitation amounts (April-June on average since 1995, 2011 and in comparison)

The main rainy season started late and irregularly. Some areas fell less than 30% of the average rainfall between 1995 and 2010. The livestock mortality rates in pastoral areas were 15 to 30 percent, sometimes 40 to 60 percent, especially among cattle and sheep. At the same time, the production of milk , an essential food especially for children, fell drastically. The harvest in the main rainy season was expected to be weak in June, and poor harvests were partly likely. Basic food prices hit record levels in May. In Baidoa , Somali , sorghum was 240% more expensive than in May 2010; in Jijiga , Ethiopia , the price of white corn had more than doubled; in Mandera , Kenya , the price of yellow corn was 58% higher.

In June 2011, nearly 10 million people in Northeast Africa were dependent on humanitarian and food aid , including 3.2 million people each in Ethiopia and Kenya, 2.6 million people in Somalia and 117,000 people in Djibouti.

USAID Director Rajiv Shah sees global warming as a contribution to the situation in East Africa. However, according to Philip Thornton of ILRI and the Institute of Atmospheric and Environmental Science at the University of Edinburgh , a single event can not be attributed to global warming. Thornton points out that the IPCC's Fourth Assessment Report considers an increase in rainfall in the region over the course of the century to be more likely and that there is currently no evidence of an increased trend towards droughts in East Africa. In contrast , droughts in East Africa are associated with strong La Niña events.

Situation by country

FEWS NET forecast of the IPC levels for August – September 2011

The areas most severely affected (at least level 4 on the IPC scale) include south-east Ethiopia, north-east Kenya and large parts of central and southern Somalia. The Islamist Shabaab militia makes humanitarian aid difficult, especially in southern Somalia.

Somalia

In Somalia, almost half of the population is in need of 3.7 million people. 3.2 million of these require immediate, life-saving measures. 2.8 million of these people are in the south of the country. The hunger crisis in Somalia is the worst in the world since the Somalia famine in 1992 . The UN declared famine status for the Bakool and Shabeellaha Hoose regions on July 20 . On August 3, famine status was also achieved in two districts in the Shabeellaha Dhexe region , in the refugee camps in the “ Afgooye Corridor” and in parts of the capital. The Jubbada Hoose , Jubbada Dhexe , Bay , Banaadir , Gedo and Hiiraan regions are also at risk of famine in the next few weeks. Almost half a million people in the central and northern regions are in need of humanitarian aid.

The entire south of Somalia is suffering from poor harvests and increasing disease outbreaks. A massive effort is needed to improve food and health care in the short term. The Somali interim government has provided US $ 500,000 to provide the internally displaced people in Mogadishu with water, blankets and food. The Islamist Shabaab militia, which controls the south of the country, which has been particularly hard hit by the famine, has not allowed any assistance to the local population since 2010. In view of the worrying development, however, parts of the organization changed their strategy at the beginning of July and asked development workers - "regardless of whether they were Muslim or non-Muslim" - for support. On July 22nd, a spokesman for al-Shabaab reversed this decision. He describes the classification of the situation as famine as "absolute nonsense" and "pure propaganda" on the part of the UN. UN agencies are ready to provide assistance if their safety and non-interference by the Islamists is guaranteed. The UN has already airlifted urgently needed medical supplies, food and water. Medical packages containing drugs for the treatment of common childhood diseases for up to 100,000 people are on the way. According to UNICEF, 3,000 boxes of nutritional supplements have already reached the badly affected area around Qansahdhere . Additional packages to care for 17,500 severely and 21,000 moderately malnourished children were sent to Somalia on July 21.

Somali refugees in Dadaab, Kenya

The rate of acute malnutrition is over 20% in the south and up to 30% in some areas. Infectious diseases cause high mortality due to the lack of vaccination protection. The lack of access to drinking water increases the risk of diarrhea. Violent injuries are increasing. In May, 1,590 gun violence injuries were recorded in Mogadishu's hospitals, nearly half of which involve children under five. WHO is currently running a campaign in Somaliland and Puntland to vaccinate 569,000 children against polio and measles. In the south and center of the country, medical care is difficult because of the lack of access for humanitarian aid organizations.

Food can reach 1.5 million Somalis, according to the WFP. Since January 2010, needy people in southern Somalia cannot be reached. According to the WFP , between July and December 2011, 77,660 tons of food worth 99.4 million US dollars will be missing. It supplies 85,000 people in Mogadishu every day. UNHCR has cared for more than 63,000 people in the south of the country. The UN and partners are also providing aid in the border areas with Ethiopia and Kenya, where access has meanwhile improved. The civil-military cooperation of the African Union Mission in Somalia maintains a medical supply camp next to Mogadishu Airport .

On July 27, 2011, WFP began setting up an airlift from Kenya to Somalia. A UN agency plane took off from Nairobi airport and transported ten tons of relief supplies, including food specifically for malnourished children. In the coming days, another 74 tons of food will be transported by airlift. There are also plans to supply areas in Ethiopia and the Kenyan border area.

Ethiopia

More than 4.5 million people need humanitarian aid. The impact of the La Niña- triggered drought is becoming increasingly acute in the lowlands of southern and southeastern Ethiopia. Late rains in May temporarily reduced some of the critical water shortages in the lowlands, but the shortages are returning and making water supplies necessary. In the southern and central highlands, however, late rains made it possible to sow. The harvest is therefore not expected until September (up to two months later than normal). The number of people in need has increased by almost 50% since April. On July 11, the Ethiopian Disaster Risk Management and Food Security Sector (DRMFSS) estimated the funds needed by the end of the year to be just under $ 400 million. According to the DRMFSS, the most important measure currently is the procurement and distribution of fortified corn-soy rations.

Water supplies are currently going to Afar , Amhara , Oromia , Somali and Tigray . More regions are expected to need deliveries in the coming days and weeks. The rehabilitation of water sources in Oromia is a priority. Previous efforts in Somali kept 90% of the wells functioning.

Over 700,000 children and pregnant and breastfeeding women need special food supplements in addition to emergency rations . Almost 160,000 children under the age of 5 require medical treatment for acute malnutrition within the second half of the year . In the first half of the year, 153,000 children were treated.

More than 112,000 refugees from Somalia are currently in Dollo Ado (Somali). The three existing refugee camps in Bokolomanyo, Melkadida and Kobe are already full, so a fourth camp is being built in Hilowen and a fifth is planned in Bora-Amino. The priorities for the refugees are food and health and hygiene, and shelter. The Ethiopian Authority for Refugees, UNHCR and WFP deliver food. The NGO Save the Children provides children under 5 with special food supplements. Spanish Doctors Without Borders (MSF) supports food and health care. UNHCR and UNICEF are also planning a vaccination campaign. The International Rescue Committee and the Lutheran World Federation help with water and hygiene supplies, and the Norwegian Refugee Council provides 10,000 tents. Furthermore, the Technische Hilfswerk (THW) supports the United Nations in the region around Dollo Ado with a team.

Acute malnutrition rates range from 10.5% in Borena to 45–47% among Somali refugees in Dollo Ado. According to the UNHCR, 2,500 Somalis arrive at the camps every day, half of them suffering from malnutrition. According to the WHO, basic health care and emergency obstetrics are poor or non-existent. Over 4,000 cases of measles were recorded between January and June 2011 ; two million children under 5 are at risk. More than 10 million people are at risk of malaria and diarrhea .

Kenya

Somali refugees in Dadaab , Kenya

After the long season (March – June) with low rainfall, food insecurity, water scarcity and the risk of disease have worsened in the northern and northeastern districts. 2.4 million people currently depend on food aid; the number could rise to 3.5 million in the coming months. Food insecurity is expected to reach crisis status in August and September.

Malnutrition affects more than 350,000 children, 65,000 severely. The acute malnutrition rate is 25% in the affected areas and 37.7% in Turkana .

On July 14, the cabinet decided to import genetically modified maize in order to combat the food crisis. However, this only applies to consumption, not to cultivation. The corn will likely come from South Africa . However, the import was only allowed for millers and subject to labeling. In the case of an import, these conditions mean additional costs and time expenditure. At the same meeting, the cabinet decided to allocate US $ 100 million to help affected Kenyans.

The three refugee camps in Dadaab are four times overburdened with over 383,000 refugees. 10,000 to 11,000 Somali refugees have been arriving there every month since January.

Exhaustion, illness, and malnutrition all increase the risk of measles, cholera, and diarrhea. Sexual violence against women is on the rise and there is a lack of basic health care and obstetrics. As of July 12, 462 measles cases and 11 deaths had been recorded with insufficient surveillance. The hardest hit areas are in the north, northeast and the coast. Migration increases the risk of disease spreading. In the week of July 25-29, UNICEF, WHO and the Kenyan Ministry of Health plan to vaccinate 215,000 children along the border with Somalia and in the camp in Dadaab against polio and measles, as well as distribute vitamin A supplements.

outlook

International organizations such as the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs of the United Nations also deplore the “ignorance” of the world community. Aid funds would not flow in sufficient quantities. The UN's request to donate around 300 million euros to East Africa initially went almost unheard. It was not until June and July 2011 that several industrialized countries reacted.

According to UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, UN aid organizations such as UNICEF, the World Food Program WFP and the refugee agency UNHCR needed around 1.6 billion dollars (1.1 billion euros) as of July 13, 2011 to support people who are starving and at risk of epidemics to help in Somalia and the neighboring countries Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti. By then, however, only half of the money needed was available.

By July 26, 2011, according to OCHA, US $ 1.1 billion in aid was provided, which means that the organization was short of US $ 1 billion. The largest donors were the United States (448 million), the European Commission (167 million) and Japan (90 million). Germany ranked 12th among donors with 13 million.

At the beginning of October 2011, UNICEF renewed its appeal to the world public to help starving children. According to the organization, four million children suffered from the famine. In Somalia alone, 450,000 of them are acutely malnourished, 200,000 of them in a life-threatening condition. Tens of thousands of people have already died in the past few months.

The World Food Program ( UN World Food Program , WFP) reported on 31 March 2017 in the report Global Report on Food Crises in 2017 , had that, contrary to numerous international relief efforts in 2016 still 108 million people go hungry. Compared to 2015, there was an epoch-making increase. Accordingly, a number of 80 million people were affected by a hunger crisis in 2015. The report was published by the Food Security Information Network (FSIN), which was established in October 2012 by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the United Nations World Food Program and the International Food Policy Research Institute . The information network is supported by the United States Agency for International Development and the European Union .

On May 1, 2017, Sigmar Gabriel, Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs , visited Somalia. In view of the effects of the hunger crisis, he asked the international community to be ready for further aid payments. At the same time, he proclaimed that Germany would double its previous aid for the hunger crisis. So far, the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ) has supported Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan, Kenya, Zambia and other countries in Central America with financial aid amounting to 70 million euros. In April 2016, Germany increased its financial aid by an additional 20 million euros, especially for the countries of South Sudan and Ethiopia. This increase was primarily intended for the United Nations World Food Program in South Sudan and for the United Nations Children's Fund in Ethiopia.

Web links

Commons : Hunger Crisis in the Horn of Africa 2011  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l Horn of Africa Drought Crisis Situation Report No. 5 (PDF; 171 kB). OCHA, July 21, 2011.
  2. ↑ a b c A catastrophe is looming in East Africa , in: Welt Online , July 12, 2011
  3. ↑ a b Drought threatens 10 million Africans , in: Neues Deutschland , July 13, 2011
  4. ↑ a b UN airlift to Somalia started ( memento of February 13, 2012 in the Internet Archive ), in: tagesschau.de, July 27, 2011
  5. ↑ UN report on Somalia: 258,000 fatalities in famine , in: Spiegel Online , May 2, 2013
  6. ↑ UN report on Somalia: Over 250,000 deaths from famine , in: Süddeutsche Zeitung , May 2, 2013
  7. ↑ Hunger: 258,000 deaths from hunger disaster in Somalia , in: Die Welt , May 2, 2013
  8. ↑ a b c d Eastern Africa: Drought - Humanitarian Snapshot. Archived from the original on July 14, 2013 ; accessed on January 10, 2016 . (PDF; 818 kB), in: fews.net, June 24, 2011
  9. ^ Period of drought , in: Junge Welt , June 30, 2011
  10. ↑ Ten million hungry people in the Horn of Africa will soon depend on food aid , in: wfp.org, July 8, 2011
  11. ^ East Africa Famine Threatens Regional Stability, USAID Chief Says. Huffington Post, July 13, 2011, accessed January 30, 2012 .
  12. ↑ IRIN : Eastern Africa: Too soon to blame climate change for drought. July 12, 2011, accessed January 30, 2012 .
  13. ↑ La Niña and current extreme weather: Questions and Answers. World Meteorological Organization , accessed January 30, 2012 .
  14. ^ Situation Report No. 6. (PDF; 328 kB) OCHA, August 3, 2011.
  15. ↑ Weekly Humanitarian Bulletin , No. 27, published by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Somalia (OCHA Somalia)
  16. ↑ "There is nothing more to eat" ( Memento from July 12, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) tagesschau.de, July 11, 2011
  17. ↑ Famine in Somalia - Islamists prevent help. Süddeutsche Zeitung, July 22, 2011.
  18. ^ A b c d Building up health response in the Horn of Africa. ( Memento of the original from November 11, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. WHO, July 20, 2011. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.who.int
  19. ↑ UN launch airlift to Somalia , in: sueddeutsche.de, July 27, 2011
  20. ↑ Drought in Somalia: UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon urgently calls for help - 1.6 billion dollars against hunger , in: news.at, July 13, 2011
  21. ↑ Horn of Africa: Top 30 donors to the food crisis. July 26, 2011.
  22. ↑ UNICEF warns of mass deaths of children in East Africa ORF, October 4, 2011
  23. ↑ 108 million people are extremely hungry - the situation continues to deteriorate. Word Food Program, March 31, 2017, accessed May 2, 2017 .
  24. ↑ Germany will double its previous aid to Somalia. LandesPressePortal, May 2, 2017, accessed on May 2, 2017 .
  25. ↑ Linda Staude: Germany wants to double its aid. Tagesschau, May 2, 2017, accessed on May 2, 2017 .