October, 2011

SOMALIA FAMINE 2011

Somalia is located in East Africa, known as the Horn of Africa, with 396,000 square mile, a population of 9 million, and Mogadishu as its capital. The country is experiencing the worst famine in its history due to drought, civil war, politics, and poverty.

In the summer of 2011, the country was hard hit by a famine that extended across much of East Africa. A combination of drought, war, restrictions on aid groups, and years of chaos have pushed 4 million Somalis - more than half the population - into "crisis," according to the United Nations. Agricultural production is just a quarter of what it normally is, and food prices have soared.

The Shabab, one of Africa's most fearsome militant Islamist groups, was blamed for much of the suffering, as it blocked many international relief groups from bringing food to famine victims. The Shabab (which had taken a beating in steady urban fighting against a better-armed, 9,000-strong African Union peacekeeping force) abruptly pulled out of the bullet-ridden capital of Mogadishu in August 2011, leaving the entire city in the hands of the government for the first time in years.

The situation had only worsened by mid-August, when the United Nations confirmed that a cholera epidemic was sweeping across the country. Hundreds of thousands of Somalis had fled into Kenya, Ethiopia and to camps in Mogadishu, where cholera and measles are preying upon a malnourished and immune-suppressed population.

In September the United Nations announced that Somalia's famine had spread to a large chunk of the southern third of the country, including parts of Mogadishu and several farming areas, which means food production has been crippled.

At the same time, aid agencies acknowledged there may be yet another problem to reckon with: the wholesale theft of food aid. The United Nations World Food Program said they were investigating allegations that thousands of sacks of grain and other supplies intended for famine victims have been stolen by unscrupulous businessmen and then sold on the open market for a profit.

Is the world about to watch 750,000 Somalis starve to death? The rains will start pounding down in the fall, but before any crops will grow, disease will bloom. Malaria, cholera, typhoid, and measles will sweep through immune-suppressed populations, aid agencies say, killing countless malnourished people.

We can not ignore this humanitarian disaster. World Harvest is called to help the Somalis. The World Harvest Disaster Relief team, led by Rev. Dr. Daniel Hanafi, is going to go to refugee camps and is distributing food and medical supplies directly at the end of October 2011.

You could make a difference! Please support World Harvest Disaster Relief team financially. Any amount is accepted and is going to make a difference in the life of Somalis. Checks are made payable to World Harvest (please write "Somalia" on the memo) and can be sent to 301 E. Foothill Blvd., Suite 201, Arcadia, CA 91006 or click here. If you prefer to donate by phone, please call (626) 359-8500.

1. The New York Times, September 16th, 2011
2. Foreign policy