Nature Middle East | House of Wisdom

The Somalia famine – A 21st century disgrace

Famine Somalia.png

Last week, the UN finally declared a famine in large areas of southern Somalia. Hundreds of thousands of Somalis in the region are at risk of dying if aid does not arrive soon.

This is the first famine the world has seen since 1991 (which was also in Somalia). Now, 20 years later, and after all the technological advantages we have made, humanity seems to stand at the door of another famine.

The area where the famine was declared has been suffering one of the worst droughts since the early 1950’s, according to the aid group Oxfam. While the drought is the main driver behind the famine, the volatile political situation in Somalia is also worsening the situation.

Several years ago, Islamist militant groups who wrangled control of the south of Somalia kicked out all Western aid agencies. Today they are downplaying the seriousness of the famine but have allowed aid to trickle in.

According to the UN, a famine is declared when three conditions are met:

1) Over 20% of the residents in an area live on less than 2100 kilocalories per day

2) At least two people per 10,000 people or four children per 10,000 children

3) An acute malnutrition that affects more than 30% of children in the affected area

The situation has reached critical status now in Somalia, and observers are worried the famine might soon spread to other parts of the country amidst the lack of a central government to handle the issue effectively.

The problem is that these issues do not wait for politics. Aid groups have pointed fingers at Western governments who have dragged their feet in addressing the famine, even though the UN has been raising danger flags since January this year.

However, my question is why have the governments of the rich Arab states and Muslim-majority states not done anything? The Islamist militants ruling south Somalia right now are wary of the involvement of aid groups from the West, but surely they would have been open to receiving aid from those states they share an ethnic link with.

I think the finger pointing should be directed at these states as much as the West. They have the funds and they have allocated much to aid over the years, but maybe they should be looking closer to home to save those people suffering from a famine, a condition I find is a disgrace to humanity in the 21st century.

Granted, the Kuwaiti Red Crescent sent the first aid shipment to Somalia after the UN declared the famine, which is a very positive development, but there is still much that needs to be done.

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