With nothing left in sight to feed her children, Sadia Mohamed Afrah was forced to leave her kids and go search for food and water. After two hours, she returned to the tree where she left them only to find her children dead. Sadia had struggled to fend off starvation, but it had finally taken hold of her family [1].
Unfortunately, her story is becoming more and more common. The combination of insufficient rainfall, poor harvests, increasing food prices, and heightened violence has led to a crisis in Somalia. Over the past year and a half, less than five and one-half inches of rain have fallen in central Somalia [2]. Even before the food emergency hit, the Horn of Africa was experiencing civil war and violence. The countries of Ethiopia, Darfur, and Kenya are experiencing similar conditions to those in Somalia. Jeffrey D. Sachs, a top UN adviser said, “These places are on the brink… They’ve gone over the cliff” [2]. In May of this year, the United Nations declared Somalia to be in a humanitarian emergency.
As local chaos meets a global food crisis, Somalia is witnessing its food prices soar to new heights. Unfortunately, this situation is not foreign to the Somalis. In the early 1990s, drought and civil conflict led to a famine in the area, characterized by malnourishment, death, food and water insufficiency, and destruction of subsistence [2]. From the time this began, Somalia has had some of the highest global undernourishment and malnutrition rates in the world . A government collapse in 1991 has led to a series of civil conflicts.
Since a government collapse in 1991, Somalia has been wracked with a series of global conflicts. To exacerbate the situation, Al Qaeda terrorists are now hiding in Somalia with local Islamist groups. Because of conflict with the Islamist insurgents, one in ten Somalis have been forced from their residences; this has led to the displacement of over one million people. In 2007, Somali refugees counted 457,000 in number. When the United States has tried to intervene in the past, a wave of anti-American attacks and threats have been directed toward western aid workers. A recent REUTERS survey showed Somalia as the second deadliest place for journalists, and one of the most dangerous places in the world for aid agencies. The allocation of provisions has been impeded by local conflict and pirate attacks. Therefore, while it is possible that foreign aid could help Somalia ward off a full-blown famine, foreign agencies are having trouble even entering the country. In 2007 alone, eleven aid workers were killed [2]. World Vision program director for aid projects in Somalia said that within the country there are “rogue elements that can shut you down, in any shape or form, at any time” [2].
Currently, Somalis are trying to avoid starvation in any way possible. Many Somalis have turned to eating a paste called ‘jerin’ consisting of mashed thorn tree branches. Out of a population of approximately 8.4 million, over 2.6 million people are in need of food aid. Unfortunately, predictions forecast a dire future. By the end of 2008, it is expected that this number will rise to 3.5 million people in need of aid. In other words, almost half the people of Somalia will be experiencing severe consequences from the famine.
The situation in Somalia is grim at best. 24% of Somali people are suffering from acute malnutrition; this level is greater than the global emergency thresholds [2]. A mere 29% of the population simply has access to safe, clean water. Although the whole population is suffering, Somali children are exceptionally affected by the current conditions. UNICEF announced in 2007 that 83,000 children in central and southern areas of Somalia were undernourished, of which 13,500 suffered from severe malnutrition and were at risk of dying [1]. Similarly, the World Health Organization announced that 13% of children under the age of five suffer from life-threatening malnourishment, and 42% are chronically malnourished [3]. For every 1,000 live births, 225 children die before they reach age five [3]. 29% of children under age five are below the global height standards for their age, and 26% of children under age five are under the global weight standards. A lack of medical care is coupled with the poor health conditions. There are only four doctors for every hundred thousand people. The situation of famine and violence affects the youth both physically and mentally. The physical consequences are obvious to us, yet the mental effects are arguably just as bad. According to UNICEF, only 24% of boys and 20% of school-age girls attend primary school [1].
The Somalian Representative to the U.N. refugee agency has said that Somalia is the worst humanitarian emergency in the world [2]. It is unsettling to simply think about this information. Is Somalia a hopeless cause? How can we effectively and safely help the starving population? The answers seem to be eluding even the world’s leading peacemakers, but our hope is that they are out there – and it won’t be too late before we find them.
- “Child malnutrition in Somalia at critical levels-UN.” Reuters AlertNet. 12 Sep 2007. Reuters Foundation. 21 Oct 2008 http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L12391945.htm.
- Gettleman. Jeffrey. “Famine looms as wars rend horn of Africa,” The New York Times 17 May 2008. 1 Oct 2008 http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/17/world/africa/17somalia.html.
- “Global Database on Child Growth and Malnutrition.” World Health Organization. 15 Aug 2008. WHO. 1 Oct 2008 http://www.who.int/nutgrowthdb/database/countries/som/en/.
- “Somalia Troubles.” Reuters AlertNet. 24 July 2008. Reuters Foundation. 1 Oct 2008 http://www.alertnet.org/db/crisisprofiles/SO_PEA.htm.
- Photo Credit: http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200705/r143346_497776.jpg
