18 May 2000
Text: U.N. Envoy Seeks to Avert Possible Famine in Horn of Africa
(Urges preventative measures now to avoid disaster) (2480) The crisis in the Horn of Africa has not yet reached the famine stage, but it "can easily" enough unless preventative measures are taken now, Catherine Bertini, the U.N. special envoy on the drought in the Horn of Africa, warned members of the U.S. Congress on May 18. Testifying from London via teleconference, Bertini told the House of Representatives International Relations Committee that "millions of people in the Horn are living on the brink of disaster." Bertini said that three consecutive years of poor rainfall have been debilitating to the people of the Horn and their animals. Food stores are gone, water is scarce, and "health conditions are deteriorating," she stressed. "If we do not move quickly and efficiently, the potential scale of the crisis is enormous -- the lives of 16 million people are at risk in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Djibouti, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and the southern part of Sudan. Conservative estimates of the food requirements already exceed 1 million tons for this year," she warned, but "ongoing detailed assessments in several of these countries are likely to yield even higher numbers." Bertini, executive director of the World Food Program, told the lawmakers that the timing in creating the special envoy position was critical. "The U.N., with stronger support from the U.S. and other governments, can play a key role in preventing the disaster," she said. Bertini said the current pipeline for food aid looks secure into the summer, but she cautioned that additional, significant pledges will be needed from the international community. The United States can help, she said, through: -- extending its generous contributions for food, but also help provide water, medicines, and livestock, and -- helping to upgrade Berbera and Djibouti port facilities and roads leading into and out of those ports. Following is the text of Bertini's statement, as prepared for delivery: (begin text) Testimony of Ms. Catherine Bertini Special Envoy of the United Nations Secretary-General on the Drought in the Horn of Africa & Executive Director of the World Food Programme before the Congress of the United States of America Committee on International Relations House of Representatives U.S. Embassy in London -- 18 May 2000 Mr. Chairman, Members of the Committee: Millions of people in the Horn of Africa are living on the brink of disaster. All of you recall the Ethiopian famine of 1984-85 and the great suffering it caused. Despite the hostility between Ethiopia and the United States at that time, Americans set those differences aside as President Reagan declared simply and memorably: "A hungry child knows no politics." America has once again taken the lead in addressing this new crisis in the Horn of Africa. Many of you may be asking yourselves, just what has changed since the mid-1980s? Is there really any improvement in Ethiopia or the other countries in the region, or are we simply moving down the same slope to the horrors of widespread famine and death? The fact is that the people in the region and we are far more prepared to cope with this drought today than we were in the mid-1980s. Things have, in fact, changed for the better. Today, we have far more sophisticated data on the hardest hit areas and we have it earlier. Ongoing vulnerability mapping by WFP and others has helped us target food aid more effectively. Governments in the region have improved their management of the food stocks they have. Ethiopia now has one of the best crop and weather monitoring capacities in Africa. Food-for-work has been employed in the region for years, to support people's labor in rehabilitating land damaged by drought, digging irrigation canals and constructing terraces for erosion control. The bloody war that resumed this past week between Ethiopia and Eritrea clouds the picture and any donor has the right to ask: "If these Governments can afford to spend more than a million dollars a day on guns, then why is it that they cannot afford to take care of this drought?" I wish I had a simple and straightforward answer to that question, but I do not. The U.N. Security Council, with Ambassador Holbrooke's active involvement, is now pushing to secure a ceasefire and bring the parties back to the negotiating table. On the humanitarian side, we are very concerned that access routes may be blocked and the Governments will not give relief aid their strongest attention and support, especially in the transport sector. But with or without the war, I am quite sure that these countries would need aid to cope with this drought. I am equally convinced that Americans will not stand by and watch millions of women and children go hungry even if their governments are tragically conducting a war. THE SCOPE OF THE CRISIS Let me give you an overview of what I found in my mission as the Secretary General's Special Envoy to the Horn of Africa. The crisis in the Horn of Africa is not a famine. But it can easily become one unless every effort is made now to undertake preventive measures before there is a widespread loss of lives. Three consecutive years of poor rainfall have been very hard on the people and their animals, food stores are gone and water is scarce. Health conditions are deteriorating and health care distribution systems don't exist. The hardest hit have been the pastoral communities that rely heavily on livestock for their living. Up to three million cattle, calves and milking cows have died. In some areas the losses have been as high as 90 percent. We are particularly concerned about the women and children. As men migrate to towns to search for alternative work, women are left behind to care for the children by themselves. As food has become scarcer, these women and their children fall victim to malnutrition and are often too weak to seek relief. One of the most disturbing things I saw on my mission was the quiet suffering of these mothers and their children. Some had walked literally for days holding skeletal young children in their arms before they reached NGO-run feeding centers. We have been able to help many of these mothers, but there have been hundreds of deaths, especially in the remote Ogaden region. Most deaths could have been prevented, with adequate medicines for colds, diarrhea and vaccinations for measles. If we do not move quickly and efficiently, the potential scale of the crisis is enormous -- the lives of 16 million people are at risk in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Djibouti, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, the southern part of Sudan, Rwanda and Burundi. Conservative estimates of the food requirements already exceed 1 million tons for this year. Ongoing detailed assessments in several of these countries are likely to yield even higher numbers. A RARE OPPORTUNITY FOR PREVENTION We have a rare opportunity to prevent suffering on a large scale. The Secretary-General's timing in creating the Special Envoy mission was critical. The UN, with stronger support from the U.S. and other governments, can play a key role in preventing a disaster. The Governments in the Greater Horn are committed, but they have varying capacities, especially with regard to transport and distribution, and contending with this drought is simply beyond their capacities. The Ethiopian, Eritrean and Kenyan Governments have all pledged funds from their own budgets to buy cereals locally and they have all maintained strategic food reserves, although the levels are now quite low. UN agencies, bilateral donors and NGOs must step in on a broad basis and, above all, they must carefully coordinate the aid they will be providing. CROSS BORDER ISSUES AFFECT RELIEF AND SECURITY The pastoral societies most affected by the current drought inhabit ecosystems that cut across national borders. Migration in pursuit of food and water has been the traditional coping mechanism in the Horn of Africa. But properly managing food distribution to a moving target population is complex, to say the least, both politically and logistically. There are also security implications. Cross border movements could rise sharply. CLEAN WATER AND BASIC MEDICINES ARE THE GREATEST UNMET NEEDS In the drought-affected areas, less than one-quarter of the people in the Greater Horn have access to drinkable water. Roughly a third of water facilities are not functioning or need rehabilitation or simple repairs. Pressure on remaining water facilities has grown accordingly and they may not sustain such heavy use for both people and the remaining livestock. At the same time, contaminated water has led to widespread diarrheal diseases that are claiming the lives of young children. Basic medicines are simply not found, nor are medical facilities. Relatively modest investments in basic drugs and water supplies would have a dramatic impact. SUPPORT FOR THE LIVESTOCK SECTOR The erratic rainfall for the last three years has taken its toll on livestock. Those that have survived are congregated around traditional dry season reserves and watering points that can no longer sustain them. As livestock prices have collapsed, grain prices have climbed. This has led to a serious deterioration in the terms of trade for pastoral communities and governments have offered only the most limited help and sporadically. FOOD AID OF THE RIGHT KIND AND QUANTITY IS NEEDED TO BRIDGE THE GAPS The current pipeline for food aid looks secure into the summer, but we will need significant new pledges. Some of the earlier needs assessments were low and based on the resumption of rain sooner. Therefore, per person rations were reduced in some areas. As needy pastoralists have lost much of their livestock, we need to provide a food basket with a relatively higher protein component. We clearly need to do more in supplementary feeding for children and the vulnerable. SECURITY IS A SERIOUS CONCERN The areas most affected by drought are also the most dangerous. This is a concern both for people migrating for food and for government and relief workers seeking to help them. UN TO LAUNCH NEW APPEAL AT THE END OF MAY Rapid and detailed assessments are now under way throughout the region to get precise figures on food and nonfood needs, and estimates of likely cross border movements. We have not sought to assess the drought-related needs in Rwanda and Burundi separately due to the complex political situation there. A new drought appeal will be issued at the end of May. It will emphasize water needs and health. In the water sector, we will focus on rehabilitating water sources, drilling new bore holes, purification, containers for transport and technical advice. In the health sector, we will aim at providing drugs for diarrhea, malaria, and acute respiratory infections. Emergency immunization programs against meningitis and measles will be undertaken in drought areas. UNICEF will be taking the lead here. WHO will be providing needed medical expertise. FAO will request seeds, veterinary aid and assistance in rehabilitating the livestock sector and grazing lands and watering points. WFP will provide added targeted food aid and related nonfood items with an emphasis on more protein and supplementary feeding. Food is being prepositioned in the event that the rains make some roads impassable. Funds are being advanced from the UN's Complex Emergencies Revolving Fund to get these activities moving. We are establishing regional security links and satellite communications systems to help cope with the significant security threats we will face. In any complex emergency there is always the issue of coordination among NGOs, bilateral donors and UN agencies. To help cope with this, the Secretary-General has already appointed a UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the Greater Horn of Africa, Manuel Aranda da Silva from WFP, who is already at work in Addis Ababa. He is charged with information sharing, coordinating aid and regional priorities, security issues and monitoring movements of affected populations. Ports, roads and transport systems in the Horn all have very limited capacity. The UN has set up a logistics cell, through WFP, to manage incoming aid and movements, but it must have active collaboration, cooperation and information sharing with donors to maximize impact. Countries in the region, while meeting their own responsibilities, must accept the UN logistics coordination and management in certain areas and they must actively welcome NGOs if we are all to be successful in coping with this crisis. Donors, too, must coordinate their shipments and deliveries with the logistics cell, or risk resources being delayed or duplicated. HOW CAN THE UNITED STATES HELP? As in the past, the United States has been incredibly generous and prompt in responding. In fact, USAID has acted early and quickly in the Horn. But with a crisis on this scale, there are substantial unmet needs. I would ask for your help in the following: 1. Generous contributions not just for food, but for other measures vis-a-vis water, medicines, and rehabilitation of the livestock sector. Current drought-related activities outside the food area are seriously underfunded. For example, FAO's appeal in the seeds and livestock area for $13.5 million has received no funding at all to date. 2. Generous contributions for food could again be made after the next OCHA appeal due at the end of the month. 3. Additional contributions to upgrade the Djibouti and Berbera ports and feeder roads, airbridge activities and logistics coordination. 4. Coordination of relief activities in the region through the logistics cell. 5. The provision of livestock, public health and possibly security experts to the regional humanitarian group. We would hope, of course, that the United States will continue and strengthen its diplomatic efforts to bring people to the region. CONCLUSION The risk of widespread loss of lives and livelihoods in the Greater Horn of Africa is very real. I wish that all of you here had the opportunity to visit the Horn and see first hand what these people are going through. In remote areas, the women and children have been hardest hit, but three years of drought has stripped the men of their livelihoods and their dignity. Forced to sell their oxen, cattle and goats just to survive, men have lost all meaning in their lives. The suicide rate among them has climbed, as the drought has grown more severe. When I visited Gode there were literally thousands of women who had converged in a desperate effort to feed their young children. Nothing prepares you to see a child die or the anguish of its mother at that horrible moment. The poorest people in Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia and Djibouti know little of politics or the fighting that now scars the region. The American people have reached out to them before and saved millions of lives and I know, with your leadership, they will continue to do so. (end text) (Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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