Hunger is far from being History

On Tuesday Niger marked its 50 years of independence from France - but there is little or no reason to celebrate. Instead of fireworks, monuments, public holidays or parties, half of Niger's 13.5 million people are facing famine.

Niger has the dubious distinction of being known as the poorest country on the planet. Right now it is on the cusp of a famine. In the aidocratic world of humanitarian action people can get quiet hysterical about terminology: is Niger 'food insecure', is it suffering from food shortages, drought or famine. It is categorically facing famine and it is estimated that 1.5 million children are currently at real risk of death from starvation.

Why is it that despite all the awareness, despite the grand political ambition to rid the planet of hunger, despite billions being pumped into food aid and hunger alleviation programs - why is it that more than 35 years after the momentous World Food Summit (Rome, 1974) when Kissinger famously proclaimed a veritable war on famine and promised “that within a decade no child will go to bed hungry” - why is it hunger is a daily reality for a cool billion people? The fact is we have collectively failed to tackle hunger. We are - to our eternal shame - worse of now than we were in 1974.

I want to post a video here of Saray Amadaou, a mother of ten children, who struggles to keep the wolves of starvation from her door by feeding her family from grains scraped from the dry earth. The Disasters Emergency Committee in the UK posted the video on their Facebook page and it sparked some interesting debate. "Why", one lady asked, "Why do you have 10 children and if the Red Cross helps you, will you see this as the opportunity to have more children?". Others offered their opinion explaining that large families were actually coping mechanisms because of hunger and high infant mortality. Nevertheless, the fatigue, the frustration, the futility with seemingly never-ending food crisis is palpable (and understandable).



What do you think? Should the Red Cross Red Crescent and other aid organizations practice 'laissez faire' knowing that millions would die a horrible death or do we continue to provide 'emergency rations' keeping people barely alive as we seek out the magic 'sustainable solutions' formula and battle against a host of external factors such as currency fluctuations, bio fuels, epidemics, desertification, trade, conflict or weather and climate related disasters?

And, hunger, despite what we might think, is not solely an African problem. The situation is arguably worse in Asia. In Pakistan, hunger is now a direct consequence of the horrific floods that have decimated the region. Wheat prices have doubled this year and are set to rise another 30% before the year is out - food riots are again surfacing in North Africa and the Americas.

Global hunger is a reality.  Making hunger history is still a lofty ideal. Why are we so far from making hunger history?

/PC

New ocean forming in African desert

Earlier this year I read a fascinating book by the author Amos Nur called Apocalypse which argued that earthquakes and natural phenomenon have had far more influence on the shaping (or misshaping) of civilization than hitherto given credit, even more than war and politics.

Then today I learn that geologists have confirmed that the African continent is being torn in two, forming a new ocean. An international collaboration has shown that a 35 mile long rift in the Afar region of the Ethiopian desert, which opened in 2005, is likely to be the beginning of a new sea.

The recent study, published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters (well worth signing up for their emailed updates which provide short snippets of the latest initiatives and breakthroughs in scientific research) brings together seismic data from the formation of the rift, showing that it is driven by similar processes to those at the bottom of oceans.

African and Arabian tectonic plates meet in the desert, and have been slowly pulling apart for roughly 30 million years. The same movement has also been parting the Red Sea. But this is only at a speed of less than 1 inch per year.

The sudden cracking in 2005, referred to by geologists as a "mega-dike intrusion", opened up a rift over 20 feet wide in places. The study has found that this happened over only a few days. According to Cindy Ebinger, a co-author of the study from the University of Rochester: "We know that seafloor ridges are created by a similar intrusion of magma into a rift, but we never knew that a huge length of the ridge could break open at once like this." (Credit for photo accompanying this post also goes to the University of Rochester).

The investigation was led by Professor Atalay Ayele of Addis Ababa University in Ethiopia. As well as Rochester, other groups involved included Eritrea Institute of Technology; National Yemen Seismological Observatory Center; University of Leeds, United Kingdom; Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, France; and Columbia University, New York.

"The whole point of this study is to learn whether what is happening in Ethiopia is like what is happening at the bottom of the ocean where it's almost impossible for us to go," said Ebinger. "Because of the unprecedented cross-border collaboration behind this research, we now know that the answer is yes, it is analogous."

One to watch and follow for sure and while Nur's thesis, mentioned above, may not be water-tight accurate it is certainly compelling. A corollory of his analysis however can be proven from this interesting research and that is that despite the serious political difficulties between countries - such as Eritrea and Ethiopia - the search for truth through science and understanding knows no borders and has the power to unite even the bitterest of enemies.

/PC

Hope trickles through

Today is World Blog Action Day for Climate Change and Head Down Eyes Open tries to do its small bit by bringing you a report from the ground in Senegal and Burkino Faso which are suffering from the devastation caused by extreme flooding. 


In the suburbs of Dakar and various regions in Senegal affected by floods, thousands of people are fighting for survival. Most are living in flooded houses in stifling humidity and deplorable sanitary conditions, and are exposed to the risks posed by waterborne diseases and reptiles running rife in some areas. 

In Kaolack, in the centre of Senegal, the fact that people are living amidst rubbish-laden water has sparked fears of outbreaks of infectious diseases. In the region of Saint-Louis, in the north of the country, some neighbourhoods and several villages are now deserted as a result of the floods.

“It has rained non-stop for three days. Even the permanent houses were unable to withstand the heavy rains, not to mention the ones made from straw and bamboo. We have never seen anything like this before,” says Amadou Abdoul Ba, the chief of the village of Lougdemis in the north of Senegal.

Wreaked havoc

In the city of Ouagadougou, in Burkina Faso, the situation is gradually stabilizing more than a month after floods wreaked havoc on 1 September 2009.

“After the emergency aid provided to the people affected by the floods, we have focused efforts on helping them to recover and adjusting our assistance programme to their needs and the funding raised in response to our appeal,” explains Brigitte Gaillis, head of the Red Cross Red Crescent flood operation in Senegal and Burkina Faso.

Aid is now being organized, with the support of the international teams specialized in water and sanitation, logistics and relief who have come to lend a helping hand to the National Red Cross Societies of Senegal and Burkina Faso. 


Devastated by floods

In Rosso, situated in northern Senegal, the inhabitants of Lougdemis, a village completely devastated by the floods, are starting a new life. Thanks to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and its partners, 127 tents have been erected to provide shelter to flood victims, with the help of volunteers from the Senegalese Red Cross Society.

Amadou Abdoul Ba, the village chief, has just moved there with his family. In an attempt to put the nightmare of Lougdemis behind them, he and the members of the community have renamed the new site Medina Mountaga Daha Tall.

“With the camp and the support of the Red Cross, we are going to try and get our livestock farming activities started again and find good sites to grow rice in the surrounding area,” explains Amadou Abdoul Ba, who just a week ago was sleeping out in the open with his family and all the members of his village.




Restoring hope in Burkina Faso

In Burkina Faso, it was decided to relocate all the flood victims staying in schools to alternative sites when classes resumed. According to the Burkinabe Red Cross Society, almost 60,000 people have to be moved to the new sites.

At the new alternative sites, volunteers from the Burkinabe Red Cross Society are organizing educational campaigns to prevent waterborne diseases and help people to hang mosquito nets in the tents. They have already installed two 10,000-litre water tanks at the racecourse site housing 5,000 people, and built 14 blocks of six latrines at five other sites.

Basic necessities

In the district of Nongr Massom, where one of the alternative sites is located, the Burkinabe Red Cross Society has organized the distribution of basic necessities to 1,000 families with the help of the IFRC. Distribution operations are also being carried out at other sites.

This initiative has restored hope to many people affected by the floods, such as Ouédraogo Alizèta, a widow aged more than fifty who has benefited from the assistance provided.

“My thanks to the Red Cross,” she said, visibly moved.

Like her, thousands of people affected by floods in West and Central Africa have received assistance from the IFRC through National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and other donors.

Safer houses

In addition to the assistance programme, some 2,500 families in Burkina Faso will receive shelter kits and be taught how to build safer houses capable of withstanding floods. Similar activities will also be carried out in Senegal.

As the rainy season starts in Central Africa, the IFRC is on maximum alert.

“In a few days, we will have the seasonal forecasts for Central Africa from the African Centre of Meteorological Application for Development (ACMAD). Meanwhile, our emergency stocks are being replenished in Yaoundé (Cameroon) and in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to ensure that we are ready for every eventuality,” stresses Youcef Ait-Chellouche, the disaster management coordinator at the IFRC office in Dakar.

Emergency appeals

On 10 September, the IFRC launched two emergency appeals for a total of 4.8 million Swiss francs (4.6 million US dollars/3.2 million euro) to help the National Societies of Burkina Faso and Senegal provide assistance to people affected by flooding in these two countries. Previously, the IFRC had launched an “early warning, early action” appeal based on meteorological forecasts in order to ensure, through the National Societies in the region, that populations at risk are prepared and that emergency stocks are pre-positioned at strategic locations.

Operations in Senegal and Burkina Faso and in the subregion were supported by OPEC and various governments through the National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies of the United States, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Canada, Denmark, Spain, Finland, Japan, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates, the German Embassy in Dakar and the Global Health Workforce Alliance at the WHO headquarters in Geneva.


My good colleague Mustapha Diallo wrote this piece for ifrc.org

Albinos 'hunted' for Body Parts

Superstition has led to the recent killing of more than 60 albinos in Burundi and Tanzania. The Red Cross is backing government efforts to protect them, and defends their right to a life in dignity.

As the trial of 11 Burundians accused of involvement in the killing of albinos and the selling of their body parts continues in Ruyigi, the Red Cross has made the protection of the most vulnerable and promotion of respect for non-discrimination and respect for diversity its highest priority.

More than 60 lives were lost in a recent spate of albino killings in Eastern Africa.

“The killings of albinos must stop and their dignity restored,” says Anseleme Katyunguruza, head of the Burundi Red Cross, which is providing aid to 48 albino children and adults sheltered for their own safety in the township of Ruyigi.

At least 12 albinos have been murdered in Burundi and 50 in Tanzania during the past few months. Although some 200 people were arrested last year on suspicion of murder in Tanzania, none have been convicted. In Burundi last November, however, two men were jailed for life for killing albinos.

Greed, superstition and murder

Katyunguruza talks about a “phenomenon of albino hunting” that started in August last year. The demand came from neighbouring Tanzania and is closely linked to the economic boom in the fishing and gold mining industries along the shores of the Lake Victoria.

This has turned into a deadly business, with killers reportedly being paid between 200 and 5,000 US dollars for their crime.“In search for profit, witch doctors revived an old superstition that the limbs and genitals of an albino can bring quicker and better results to one’s enterprise. We are condemning and fighting this horrible form of discrimination,” he adds.

Red Cross volunteers have been helping the bereaved families with the burials of the mutilated bodies of family members. Things are so serious that volunteers often have to pour concrete over the tombs to prevent albino corpses from being exhumed at night by people in search of the 'magical organs'.

Family betrayal

Many volunteers have taken the risk of sheltering in their own houses people with albinism, some of whom have been threatened by members of their own families. Red Cross volunteers are driven by a firm commitment to respect human dignity and protect people from suffering and violence.

“We are two albinos in our family - my younger brother and I. One day our older brother came back from Tanzania with strangers. At nightfall, they hovered around our house as they watched us. Then they caught my brother and killed him,” one albino child, on the verge of tears, told a Burundi Red Cross volunteer.

His dead brother’s body parts were then sold off for 300,000 Burundian francs (about 250 US dollars). “We alerted the police, even though we were threatened. The authorities arrested [our older brother] but, for some reason, he was released shortly after. Now he is in hiding in Tanzania.”

The areas worst affected are the communes of Bweru, Nyabitsinda, Kinyinya, Gisuru, Butaganzwa around the town of Ruyigi, not far from the Tanzanian border. The killings occur regularly in Tanzania as well. The body parts are at high demand among miners and fisherman around the Lake Victoria regions of Mwanza, Shinyanga, Kigoma and Mara.

Protection and assistance

Authorities in both countries have offered protection to dozens of albinos in shelters safeguarded constantly by the police. In Ruyigi, there is tight security at the shelters where the Red Cross is distributing food, digging latrines and providing other essential services.

“We have collected money and take turns to visit our (albino) fellow Burundians. We bring beer and share it with them since this is a sign of acceptance and solidarity,” says one volunteer, adding that the Red Cross also encourages communities to help vulnerable albinos returning home by reconstructing houses and labouring their fields.

Activities encouraging respect for humanitarian principles and values have intensified in communities across the affected areas. Further assistance includes advocacy with local authorities in order to sensitize them to the plight of the albino. Schools have also been approached to ensure that albino children can continue their studies in the town of Ruyigi and the town’s hospital has been asked to allow free of charge medical care for albino people in need.

Across the border, the Kabanga public school for the disabled, near the town of Kigoma, on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, provides refuge for some 50 Tanzanian albino children youngsters and single mothers.

Many have just escaped their villages with their lives and tell harrowing stories of killing and mutilation.

One small boy talks about how his non-albino mother’s hand was severed by albino hunters armed with machetes after she tried to prevent them seizing him.

The school has now completely run out of space, but vulnerable albinos are still being brought in by the police from as far as 200 kilometres away.

Changing minds, saving lives

While eagerly waiting to hear about the outcome of the Ruyigi trial, some displaced people with albinism are already thinking of returning to their villages. When the time is right, Red Cross volunteers will accompany them every step of the way and ensure that additional discussions aimed at stemming discrimination are being organized.

A series of training sessions focusing on the reintegration of albinos into their communities has already taken place and volunteers have tested not only the acceptance but also the readiness of communities to protect those who decide to return.

“The results were satisfactory but communities remain divided over the issue,” says Evariste Nhimirimana of the Burundi Red Cross. “We need to continue our work. We cannot expect that superstitions will be easily eradicated.”

The Red Cross plans to use cultural gatherings to explain to the most suspicious that there is nothing supernatural about albinism; that in fact it is a health condition that cannot entirely be treated. Focusing on dropping bias, critical thinking and non-violent communication will be key to influence behavioural change in the community.

Nshimirimana’s concerns are echoed by his Tanzanian colleague Julius Kejo, who says: “We need to change minds in order to save lives.”

This article was written by my colleague Andrei Engstrand-Neacsu for ifrc.org; further blogs planned on this topic, soon. It is also being coverd by BBC online.

/PC

Floods in a Desert

On 17 March 2009, as Ireland and Montserrat and the rest of the world celebrated Saint Patrick's day, the Namibian government declared a state of emergency in its northern flood-stricken regions. The President, Hifikepunye Pohamba, called on the international community for assistance.

Ninety Two deaths have already been reported and more than 276,000 people have been directly affected. This figure is expected to rise as more information comes to light.

There are real fears that an existing outbreak of cholera (in the Kunene region) could be exacerbated. Access to safe drinking water and sanitation facilities is very limited in the flood areas, and cholera and other such diseases could increase. There are also some warnings of a possible outbreak of malaria.

The floods have also caused extensive destruction to homes, schools, health facilities, agricultural fields, businesses and infrastructure. Wide-spread crop failures are expected, compounding the loss of any food reserves the communities may have had. Farmers are also increasingly worried about outbreaks of disease in their livestock. Many roads have been rendered impassable, and access to health facilities and schools has become very difficult, if not impossible.

The Namibian Red Cross Society has been assisting people who are being relocated to higher ground. This includes registrations, camp management, and provision of available relief materials, health and hygiene promotions and sanitation within the camps.

The Zambezi River Basin, which stretches from Angola to Mozambique, is affected annually by floods, bringing death and disease to those living along the river banks. Namibia, a largely desert-covered country, is not normally subjected to such extreme flooding.

The International Red Cross is appealing for nearly 800,000 Swiss Francs (USD 709,000) in response to severe flooding in Namibia, in the regions on the border with neighbouring Angola. 300,000 Swiss Francs (USD 253,000) has already been released from its Disaster Emergency Relief Fund (DREF) for operations in both Namibia and Angola.

The Emergency Appeal seeks to provide shelter, food, clothing, mosquito nets, clean water and sanitation to relieve the impact of floods for a period of six months. Clean water, sanitation facilities and temporary shelter are the most urgent needs since the majority of the affected people have been displaced from their homes and safe water has been contaminated.

In a real-time example of early warning early action, the Red Cross Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) released CHF 146,695 (USD 124,473, EURO 99,224) when unseasonal rains hit Namibia on the 11th of March, ensuring that the Namibian authorities and its local Red Cross society were ready prepared for the imminent flooding to which they are now responding.