2006 Horn of Africa food crisis
Encyclopedia
Horn of Africa
The Horn of Africa is a peninsula in East Africa that juts hundreds of kilometers into the Arabian Sea and lies along the southern side of the Gulf of Aden. It is the easternmost projection of the African continent...
(Somalia
Somalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
, Djibouti
Djibouti
Djibouti , officially the Republic of Djibouti , is a country in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Eritrea in the north, Ethiopia in the west and south, and Somalia in the southeast. The remainder of the border is formed by the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden at the east...
and Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
), as well as northeastern Kenya
North Eastern Province (Kenya)
North Eastern Province is the third largest province in Kenya and has thirteen constituencies represented in the Kenya National Assembly.The region is home to a rare type of antelope called the Hirola, which is classified as an endangered species. The NFD's pastoralists also possess livestock in...
. The United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
's Food and Agriculture Organization
Food and Agriculture Organization
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is a specialised agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger. Serving both developed and developing countries, FAO acts as a neutral forum where all nations meet as equals to negotiate agreements and...
(FAO) estimated on January 6, 2006, that more than 11 million people in these countries may be affected by an impending widespread famine
Famine
A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including crop failure, overpopulation, or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompanied or followed by regional malnutrition, starvation, epidemic, and increased mortality. Every continent in the world has...
, largely attributed to a severe drought
Drought
A drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. Generally, this occurs when a region receives consistently below average precipitation. It can have a substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region...
, and exacerbated by military conflicts in the region.
Causes
Drought is a predictable event in the Horn of Africa and it is other factors that allow it to escalate and cause terrible human misery. Previous droughts in 1983–85, 1991–92 and 1998–99 swiftly reversed gradual increase in livestock and caused losses in the cattle population of up to 62%. These conditions of droughtDrought
A drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. Generally, this occurs when a region receives consistently below average precipitation. It can have a substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region...
, together with other factors including high cereal prices, overpopulation in the region, abandoning traditional rangeland management methods and conflict, are leading to conditions of famine
Famine
A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including crop failure, overpopulation, or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompanied or followed by regional malnutrition, starvation, epidemic, and increased mortality. Every continent in the world has...
. In the present 2006 drought, claims about factors transforming drought into famine include a ban on livestock imports to markets in the Persian Gulf States
Persian Gulf States
Persian Gulf States can refer to:* Countries in the Middle East bordering the Persian Gulf and sometimes known as the Gulf States: Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates....
, which has reduced the income of livestock-dependent farmers, further increasing food insecurity
Food security
Food security refers to the availability of food and one's access to it. A household is considered food-secure when its occupants do not live in hunger or fear of starvation. According to the World Resources Institute, global per capita food production has been increasing substantially for the past...
.
Current situation
Djibouti
DjiboutiDjibouti
Djibouti , officially the Republic of Djibouti , is a country in the Horn of Africa. It is bordered by Eritrea in the north, Ethiopia in the west and south, and Somalia in the southeast. The remainder of the border is formed by the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden at the east...
was a severely drought affected; the FAO
Food and Agriculture Organization
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations is a specialised agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger. Serving both developed and developing countries, FAO acts as a neutral forum where all nations meet as equals to negotiate agreements and...
estimated that about one third of the population (400 000 people) needed food aid.
Ethiopia
The FAO estimated that more than one million people in the Somali RegionSomali Region
Somali Region ; is the eastern-most of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia. It is often called Somalia, though it is not to be confused with the independent country of the same name. The capital of Somali State is Jijiga...
of Ethiopia
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
were facing severe food shortages. Although crops are currently being harvested, shortages are still expected to occur in the country's south-east.
Kenya
Crop failure, drought and depleted livestock herds led to famine conditions in the Cushitic-inhabited northern and eastern pastoral districts of ManderaMandera District
Mandera District is an administrative district in the North Eastern Province of Kenya. Its capital town is Mandera. The district has a population of 250,372 and an area of 26,744 km² .The district has three constituencies:...
, Wajir
Wajir District
Wajir District is an administrative district in the North Eastern Province of Kenya. Its capital town is Wajir. The district has a population of 319,261 and an area of 55,501 km² . Wajir district has only one local authority: Wajir county council. The district has four constituencies: Wajir North,...
, and Marsabit
Marsabit District
Marsabit District is an administrative district in the Eastern Province of Kenya. Its capital town is Marsabit. The district has a population of 121,478 The district is located in northern Kenya. It borders the eastern shore of Lake Turkana....
. As of January 6, 2006, approximately 30 deaths were reported. Some 2.5 million people (10% of the population) required food aid over the next six months, which led the Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki
Mwai Kibaki
Mwai Kibaki is the current and third President of the republic of Kenya.Kibaki was previously Vice President of Kenya for ten years from 1978–1988 and also held cabinet ministerial positions, including a widely acclaimed stint as Minister for Finance , Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for...
to declare a national disaster.
Somalia
The situation in SomaliaSomalia
Somalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
was the worst of the four countries. About two million people in the country's southern pastoral regions required humanitarian assistance. The prolonged absence of a strong central government and poor transportation infrastructure also posed problems for the distribution of food aid.
Relief effort
In February 2006, UNICEF warned that 1.5 million children under the age of five were being threatened by the drought and called for $16 million USD to help fund its relief efforts in the region.See also
- 2011 Horn of Africa famine
- 1984–1985 famine in Ethiopia
- 2010 Sahel drought
- Sahel droughtSahel drought[[File:Greening Sahel 1982-1999.jpg|thumb|300px|Recent "Greening" of the Sahel: The results of trend analyses of time series over the Sahel region of seasonally integrated NDVI using NOAA AVHRR NDVI-data from 1982 to 1999...
External links
- "Horn of Africa Famine Imminent says FAO", Adankronos International, January 6, 2006
- Africa Weather Hazards Assessment - USAID FEWS-NET (Famine Early Warning Systems NetworkFamine Early Warning Systems NetworkFamine Early Warning Systems Network is a lead organization in the field of prediction and response to famines and other forms of food security...
) - Crops & Drought: Drought in East Africa - NASA Earth Observatory, Natural hazards.
- The Food Crisis in Africa, Integrated Regional Information NetworksIntegrated Regional Information NetworksIntegrated Regional Information Networks, commonly known as IRIN, acts as a news agency focusing on humanitarian stories in regions that are often forgotten, under-reported, misunderstood or ignored....
, overview with updates - Action for Africa Appeal, IR Worldwide, International Humanitarian NGO