Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Rome (Agenzia Fides) – 14.6 million people in the Horn of Africa now require humanitarian assistance due to poor rains, high food and fuel prices, conflict, and animal disease.
The alarm has been launched by the World Food Program (WFP) of Nairobi (Kenya). Among the most affected by the crisis are the poor who live in the slums on the outskirts of the cities.
“The situation of the urban poor has worsened, they are now getting more vulnerable; it is no longer just the old caseload of drought-affected people; the urban poor need assistance as they continue to be adversely affected by rising food prices," said Peter Smerdon, a senior public affairs officer for the UN World Food Programme (WFP).
Besida Tonwe, head of the regional office of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said the urban poor were among those at greatest risk. “Some 20 million people live in slums across the Horn of Africa," she said. "They are at the mercy of huge fluctuations in the price of basic family food that strip their purchasing power and deplete their savings.” In Kenya, an estimated 70 percent of the overall population affected by rising food prices.
“This is in addition to funds already being used to feed the hungry in the region,” Smerdon said. He also mentioned that in Ethiopia, some 4.6 million people required emergency food aid for the rest of the year, because of drought in the southern, central, western and northeastern parts of the country.
Mark Bowden, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, said although the conditions in Somalia were similar to those in the rest of the Horn, its situation was worse as it had had three consecutive years of drought. “"The food and livelihood crisis in Somalia is already critical after very poor rains in the southern and central parts of the country this year, combined with violence and limited or no access to the affected populations.” (LM) (Agenzia Fides 24/7/2008)
