By VALERIE AMOSWednesday, August 03, 2011advertisements The people of East Africa face an extraordinary challenge. Amid the worst drought in 60 years, some 12 million people — in Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia and Djibouti — are in dire need of help, and the situation is getting worse.
Tens of thousands of people have already died in Somalia. Hundreds of thousands more face starvation. Many have fled across the border, walking for weeks, to Kenya and Ethiopia — where people have been generous in their response.
The crisis is so large we sometimes ask what we can do; how we can make any real headway in easing the suffering.
Many of its causes are global in nature — climate change, rising food prices worldwide. Others are local but no less difficult. Environmental degradation. Conflict. A lack of effective central government in Somalia.
But there are many things we can do — to save lives, to reduce suffering. If we are to avoid this crisis descending into an even greater catastrophe, we must do them now. And that means all of us.
The United Nations has been taking action for some months. We sounded the alarm last November, when we appealed for $1.6 billion to tackle the looming drought. We now know we need at least $2 billion, of which $1 billion has been given so far.
New pledges are being made every day. UN agencies and NGOs are committed to doing more. The situation in the Horn of Africa leads the international news.
On the ground, UN agencies are working tirelessly with national partners to save lives. The World Food Programme has fed 1.5 million people in Somalia. In Kenya, UNHCR and other agencies are caring for almost 400,000 people in the Dadaab refugee camp — and are moving thousands to a new facility nearby, after the agreement of the government of Kenya.
The International Organisation for Migration, Unicef, the WHO, FAO and many others are also playing an essential role.
We have used a special UN fund called the Central Emergency Response Fund to fill essential funding gaps. Since the beginning of this year, the CERF has released almost $100 million to scale up humanitarian programmes; more than $50 million in July alone.
The message is clear. The crisis in the Horn of Africa matters to the whole world. The future of a generation is at stake.
Most importantly, we are listening to your priorities. Sometimes, people have the idea that aid workers from far away fly in and act alone, with little regard for local issues. This is not the case. We are talking every day to your governments, your civic leaders, your non-governmental organisations and — most importantly — to the people directly affected by the crisis. We are guided by what you say.
But we must also be honest about the limits of what we, as outsiders, can and should do.
As the international community, we are only the third line of response.
The first line must be national governments and institutions. They bear primary responsibility for the welfare of their citizens, and decide how a response should be managed. The second are your close friends and neighbours — regional organisations such as the African Union, Igad, the East African Community.
We are here to support you, in your priorities, in your actions — in a strictly neutral and impartial manner.
But this is a time for the whole region to pull together. Where some have no food, others have enjoyed a good harvest. There are people who have resources. Business leaders who have benefited from East Africa’s recent growth. This is the moment for them to give back, to support their country people.
Valerie Amos is the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Co-ordinator.