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Food Crisis in Africa
Monday, January 27, 2003 — Close to 30 million people face hunger and even death by starvation in Southern Africa and the Horn of Africa. In Southern Africa the worst drought in a decade, coupled with the devastating socioeconomic impact of AIDS, has caused drastic food shortages. In the Horn of Africa, 14.3 million are at risk of starvation due to a prolonged drought that has seriously affected agricultural and livestock production. In both regions of Africa, crops have dried-up in the fields and desperate families are selling all they have, including precious livestock, to buy food. Prices for the dwindling supply of available food in the market have soared.
Malawi Red Cross volunteers assist with the distribution. |
Particularly hard-hit have been the poorest and most vulnerable, especially the elderly, children, AIDS-affected orphans, the chronically ill, and pregnant and nursing women. To compound the disaster, the HIV/AIDS pandemic has ravaged these communities, affecting many of the people who ordinarily would have been the most economically productive.
Southern Africa has the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence rates in the world. In some countries, more than 30 percent of the adult population is infected. HIV/AIDS impacts food security and nutrition in many ways. Young and strong people fall ill and are unable to farm or earn wages. Family members are pulled away from income generating and farming activities as they care for others with the disease. Parents die leaving orphans to be supported by extended families (often grandparents) creating a situation where there are many mouths to feed and fewer wage earners. This agricultural, social and economic disaster is affecting more than 14.6 million people in Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
In the Horn of Africa chronic drought is a continual problem in the region. In Ethiopia, due to poor spring rains and the late arrival of fall rains, the country's harvests produced a mere 20 percent of last year's yield. In Eritrea the situation is also severe with agricultural outputs 60 percent below their normal levels. With 14.3 million people at risk of starvation, the year 2003 could become a crisis of similar magnitude to that of the 1984 famine.
American Red Cross Response in Southern Africa
In April 2002, the American Red Cross sent two staff members to southern Africa to assess the crisis and determine the most appropriate response. Based upon this assessment, the decision was made to focus relief efforts in five remote, hard-to-reach districts in northern and central Malawi, both suffering from chronic food insecurity, malnutrition and stifling poverty.
Simeon Syless started as Malawi Red Cross youth volunteer 8 years ago. His motivation as a volunteers stems from his desire to assist his friends and neighbors in the community. |
- Malawi has one of the highest levels of malnutrition in sub-Saharan Africa with about 50 percent of children under five years of age suffering from chronic protein energy malnutrition. The American Red Cross and the Malawi Red Cross have a strong working relationship and are jointly implementing an HIV/AIDS program that began in October 2002. Beginning in June 2002 through June 2003 we distributed monthly rations of corn, corn-soya blend and beans to 125,000 vulnerable people in five districts in Malawi. The American Red Cross also helped to respond to devastating floods in Malawi in March 2001 by providing both emergency relief and long-term assistance to victims.
Current American Red Cross Activities:
- Implementing a supplementary feeding program in five districts in Malawi for the severely malnourished and families supporting chronically-ill individuals or orphans;
- Implementing a supplementary feeding program in health facilities, benefiting close to 50,000 children under five years and pregnant or lactating women;
- Distributing agricultural tools and seeds to approximately 4,000 families in three districts in Malawi;
- Working with the Malawi Red Cross Society on a five-year HIV/AIDS project to develop programs on HIV prevention, home-based care and support to orphans;
- Assisting the Malawi Red Cross Society through the expertise of an American Red Cross logistician and health specialists.
- Supporting the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies cash appeal with a $25,000 contribution designed for relief efforts in Lesotho.
- Building the capacity of the Malawi Red Cross to mobilize populations to better access health care services for children through a USAID funded program led by Management Sciences for Health in eight districts in Malawi.
Planned Activities:
- Improving water and sanitation facilities in Malawi to benefit approximately 200,000 people in poor, rural areas so that they have safe drinking water and the threat of widespread disease such as cholera is reduced;
- Continuing to support the $61.6 million appeal of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies to assist a minimum of 1.3 million people for 12 months;
- Developing a five-year program that provides food assistance and home-based care to those living with HIV/AIDS;
- Expanding food distribution activities into other severely affected countries.
The American Red Cross Response in the Horn of Africa
Working closely with both the Eritrean and Ethiopian National Societies, the American Red Cross has determined that the most cost effective and high impact intervention to undertake is water and sanitation projects. In both countries, the impact of the drought is magnified by a lack of access to clean water and adequate sanitation. In Ethiopia only 24 percent of the general population has access to clean water, dropping to 13 percent in rural areas. This means that 76 percent of the population, or more than 47 million people, do not have access to clean water. Experience demonstrates that people affected by disasters are more likely to become ill and to die from diseases related to inadequate sanitation and water supplies than from any other single cause. These diseases when combined with malnutrition cause a downward spiral, each condition exacerbating the other.
A Malawi Red Cross volunteer measures out a ration of maize flour for a young girl. |
In areas where unsanitary water conditions and malnutrition exist, the impact on mortality and morbidity, particularly in children under five years of age, can be catastrophic. It is this lack of access to clean water combined with crop dependency which makes the rural populations within the region highly vulnerable during drought.
American Red Cross assistance to the region began in 1985 when it launched an unprecedented African Relief Campaign to help feed millions of starving people in the drought-stricken sub-Saharan region. Through this campaign, the American Red Cross raised more than $24.5 million. Over the years the American Red Cross has implemented projects in water and sanitation, food assistance and maternal and child health in the region. In May 2000 we contributed $1 million for famine relief in the Horn of Africa. These funds were used to purchase food supplies for over 100,000 people in the two regions of Ethiopia which were hardest hit by drought and starvation - Gode and South Wollo. Following this initial distribution, we implemented a food distribution program assisting 25,000 farmers in Wolayta region. We more recently contributed $1 million toward the drought for projects throughout the Horn of Africa.
Current American Red Cross Activities:
- Since 2000, implementing maternal-child health programs in Ethiopia and Eritrea to reduce the mortality rate among mothers, infants and children by providing safe water and sanitation facilities and teaching basic home health skills, disease care and prevention. There are 50,000 beneficiaries for these programs.
- Implementing a water sanitation and community education project in the Gursum region in Ethiopia to rehabilitate existing water sources, construct new water sources and establish and strengthen community water committees, as well as basic hygiene education and health promotion. The programs will benefit 31,000 people.
- Implementing a three month Food for Work project in the Doba region to support ongoing activities.
Planned Activities:
- Distributing food to 100,000 people in Ethiopia and 50,000 people in Eritrea;
- Implementing a water sanitation project in the Southern Red Sea region in Eritrea to benefit 30,000 people;
- Implementing a water sanitation project in the Dubub region of Eritrea to benefit 23,000 people;
- Implementing additional water sanitation projects in the most severely drought-affect regions of Ethiopia to benefit up to 100,000 people;
- Supporting the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Society's $10 million cash appeal for Ethiopia to assist 120,000 people and its $5.6 million appeal for Eritrea to assist 41,000 people;
- Supporting the International Committee of the Red Cross in its operations in Ethiopia to distribute more than 47,000 tons of food, seeds and fertilizer to up to 1 million people affected by drought and conflict in the regions of Eastern and Western Hararghe, Wolayita, Sidama and in Tigray.
The American Red Cross and Its Global Grassroots Network
The American Red Cross works with a global network of Red Cross and Red Crescent societies to restore hope and dignity to the world's vulnerable people. The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement brings both emergency relief to disaster victims and improves basic living conditions of those in chronically poor areas of the world. Guided by our seven Fundamental Principles - Humanity, Impartiality, Neutrality, Independence, Voluntary Service, Unity and Universality - the American Red Cross partners with other Red Cross and Red Crescent societies in the efficient and effective relief of human suffering and the empowerment of people with skills they need to help themselves.
The American Red Cross is currently working with sister societies in more than 35 countries. Many of these national societies have hundreds of branches throughout their countries, with tens of thousands of youth and adult volunteers (currently 97 million volunteers/members worldwide.) The ability to quickly rally this extensive on-the ground network of Red Cross and Red Crescent national societies is a unique advantage of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. The American Red Cross has been providing food to those in need at home and overseas for more than 110 years. Today, American Red Cross food programs are global in scope. Since 1999 alone, the American Red Cross has assisted more than 4.5 million people in 19 countries through food interventions. The American Red Cross also specializes in water and sanitation programs. In the past 10 years, the American Red Cross has implemented long-term water and sanitation programs in more than 15 countries, benefiting 1.4 million people.
How You Can Help
To help the people of Africa most affected by the current crisis, the American Red Cross needs additional financial assistance to expand its emergency food distributions and long-term recovery programs. It will also concentrate on building the capacity of Red Cross societies and branches to help local people to get the food and safe water they need to survive-and assist them to find lasting solutions to the problems of hunger and poverty.
By all accounts, the current food crisis in Africa is at an unprecedented level. With approximately 30 million people at risk of starvation, humanitarian leaders are calling on governments, private voluntary organizations, the private sector and the public to respond.
With additional funding, the American Red Cross will focus African relief efforts on the provision of food, water and sanitation, and capacity building for our national society partners.
Together, with your help, the American Red Cross will be able to save the lives of Africans by:
- Providing food and supplementary feeding to Ethiopians and Eritreans in need in areas that are not currently receiving food from international and other non-governmental organizations.
- Implementing new water and sanitation programs in some of the most affected countries — Ethiopia, Eritrea and Malawi.
- Increasing the number of personnel in-country helping partner national societies build their emergency response capabilities.
Donations to the International Response Fund can be mailed to your local Red Cross chapter or to the American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013. Secure online credit card donations can be made by visiting www.redcross.org/donate/donate.html.
You can help the victims of countless crises around the world each year, crises like the Myanmar Cyclone and China Earthquake, by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross International Response Fund, which will provide immediate relief and long-term support through supplies, technical assistance and other support to help those in need. The American Red Cross honors donor intent. If you wish to designate your donation to a specific disaster please do so at the time of your donation by either contacting 1-800-HELP NOW or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish), or mailing your donation with the designation to the American Red Cross, P.O. Box 37243, Washington, D.C. 20013 or to your local American Red Cross chapter. Internet users can make a secure online contribution by visiting www.redcross.org.
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