Thursday, August 25, 2011
Ethiopia's Prime Minister Meles Zenawi - who hosted the event in his country's capital - attended alongside the heads of state of Somalia, Djibouti and Equatorial Guinea.
Many aid experts, analysts and diplomats said they expected little from the 54-member organisation that has often been perceived as toothless and has seen its funding battered by the absence of its main financier, Libya's Muammar Gaddafi.
About 12 million people need emergency food across the "triangle of death" region, straddling Somalia - where famine was declared in five regions - Kenya and Ethiopia.
The AU itself has so far pledged just $500,000 from its emergency funds to a relief effort that aid groups say is still short of an estimated $1.4 billion.
The chairman of the AU Commission, Jean Ping, and other speakers acknowledged the criticisms but said they needed time to prepare and that they had already donated money.
"Some critics alleged that the African Union and its members states have reacted too little, too late," Ping told delegates. "Ahead of today, many pledges have been made."
According to aid agency Oxfam only a handful of African nations have donated money so far. Egypt led with a pledge of $16.8 million, followed by Algeria's $10 million.
Tiny Gabon has donated $2.5 million and Equatorial Guinea has found $2.8 million.
AN IMPORTANT STEP
"While the governments of 'frontline' states like Ethiopia and Kenya have generously received and cared for refugees, at the pan-African level they cannot even get their acts together to hold the donor conference," J. Peter Pham, an analyst with U.S. think-tank the Atlantic Council, told Reuters, referring to the delay in holding the event.
"Perhaps it is out of embarrassment at what the tally would be when one considers that the government of South Africa, whose economy accounts for nearly one-third of the continent's GDP, has so far pledged a pitiful total of just over $1 million and paid only half of that."
Kenya and Ethiopia have had to deal with an influx of Somali refugees fleeing a prolonged conflict that aid experts say has worsened the impact of a bad drought and led to famine.
Analysts say African governments' refrain of pleading poverty when asked for donations, rings hollow with several economies now oil-rich and others seeing double-digit growth over the past five years.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said the situation in the refugee camps was dire and that Somalis need to be given aid in their own country despite most of the regions affected being under the control of the Islamist al Shabaab rebel group.
Meles said Ethiopia would buy 300,000 tons of wheat to replenish its food reserves.
Some ordinary Africans, frustrated by their governments' reaction to the crisis, have stepped in and set up impromptu fundraising groups across the continent.
One of those, Africans Act 4 Africa, has urged countries to donate their "proportional" share based on their economies, saying a $50 million pledge is the least that should be given but that $100 million would demonstrate a serious commitment.
"It's an important step in the right direction," European Union commission for humanitarian aid, Kristalina Georgieva, told Reuters.
"Africa is now taking on the problems it faces. This is the first such summit held by a young organization with little humanitarian experience and a small but dedicated team. It will improve in the future."
Source: Reuters