Stricken Somalians are desperate for humanitarian aid after the worst drought for decades continues to blight the south of the country, killing livestock and forcing starving families onto the road in search of food and water.
The six regions that have been declared famine zones by the United Nations (UN) remain under the control of the militant Islamist group Al-Shabaab, who have restricted the flow of aid into the worst affected areas. Many women and children have died journeying to the capital, Mogadishu, in search of food and water. Their suffering often doesn’t end there.
Women refugees, prodded awake by the end of a rifle butt, are being raped at night, often in front of their families, according to a Channel 4 report. Poor sanitation and overcrowding in the camps puts the refugees at risk of dying from cholera and malaria. In the next four months more than three-quarters of a million people could die in Somalia alone. That is more than the population of the city of Manchester.
With many East Africans caught between conflict and famine, anti-poverty group ONE wants to focus attention on not only the Somalian refugees but also the wider drought that affects the entire Horn of Africa, which includes Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Djibouti. Calling for world leaders to keep their promise to support agriculture and prevent hunger disasters from happening again, they have produced a video appeal titled ‘The F Word: Famine is the Real Obscenity’.
Bono, lead singer of U2 and co-founder of the ONE campaign, said:
“More than 30,000 children have died in just three months. Mothers are forced to decide who to feed and who to let die. In 2011? That’s obscene. There are things that can be done, and if we really believe the life of a child in East Africa is worth the same as the lives of our own children, we have to act.”
Western aid can make a positive impact on agricultural security in East Africa. Where smart investments have been made in parts of Ethiopia, farmers have proved themselves resilient in the current crisis. Agricultural support is seen one of the long-term solutions to help East Africans, sustaining the population after the food has run out. Adrian Lovett, European Director of ONE, said:
“Through our Hungry No More campaign we hope to educate the public that famines are preventable and investments in farming, just like vaccines, can save lives."
"Food security must be a priority for leaders at the G20 in November. If leaders live up to their promises to support farmers in Africa we can break the cycle of famine once and for all."
“Some people will say this film is inappropriate and that it relies on celebrities to get the message across. ONE is a movement of 2.5 million people. We’re proud to have the support of these high profile figures. It’s crazy that without them raising their voices in this way the plight of millions of hungry people was at risk of slipping out of sight.”