Bernard J. Durkan
Question:5 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement on the state of world hunger with particular reference to the Horn of Africa. [12863/00]
Written Answers. - World Hunger.
According to the United Nations, more than 790 million people do not have enough to eat and as many as two billion people globally lack essential nutrients at a time when there is enough food produced globally to meet the needs of all individuals. Surplus amounts of food produced at a global level do not necessarily translate into an adequate supply of food at a national, regional or local level. Availability of sufficient food and access to it are the key issues.
Currently, most of the world's hungry people are found in southern and eastern Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Adverse weather conditions, including both drought and floods, often exacerbated by conflict, have put millions of people at risk.
In the Horn of Africa up to 16 million people are affected by three consecutive years of poor rainfall. There is minimal food from harvests, there is a shortage of water and livestock are dying or being sold prematurely. Pastoral areas of the sub-region, including south-eastern Ethiopia, northern Kenya and several parts of Somalia, have been particularly affected.
Hardest hit is Ethiopia, where more than eight million people are at risk, while in Kenya nearly 2.7 million people are facing severe food shortages. Past or ongoing civil conflicts are also disrupting food production and distribution, triggering food shortages and mass population displacements. With poor rainfall forecast for the sub-region during the current season, the number of people in need of assistance is anticipated to increase. I saw for myself the effects of the drought in Ethiopia during my visit there last week. Only a sustained international effort in the coming months in support of the affected populations can avert further human suffering and loss of life. This is being put in place under the leadership of the United Nations. Sufficient food aid has been committed for the needs as assessed at the moment. The crucial issue now is to translate these commitments into food arriving in the villages and remote areas. There is a two month period before the Meher or long rains to pre-position sufficient food to meet anticipated needs for the rest of the year. The chain of delivery is fragile and there are worries that the internal distribution capacity is weak, particularly with regard to short-haul trucking. The war with Eritrea has contributed to these logistical difficulties by absorbing trucking capacity. The World Food Programme is working with the Ethiopian Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Commission to try to address these issues. In my consultations with the Prime Minister and with the Minister for Economic Planning and Development, I was given assurances that everything possible was being done to improve delivery of assistance.
As I already indicated, I was assured during my visit to Ethiopia that sufficient food to meet known needs has now been pledged. An up-dated analysis of all humanitarian needs is being carried out by the newly appointed United Nations humanitarian co-ordinator and this will lead to a revised assessment which is expected soon.
The international community has responded generously to the appeals for assistance. Ireland, for its part, has committed a total of £2,859,000 to emergency assistance. Part of these funds comes from the emergency assistance budget and part from a reorientation of long-term funds to meet more immediate needs, in consultation with the Ethiopian authorities. In addition, many of Ireland Aid's area programmes are focused on long-term approaches to improving chronic food insecurity through agricultural development and land and water management. Emergency funds have been given to Irish NGOs which are doing excellent work and through the World Food Programme and UNICEF.
The European Commission has committed a total of 542,526 mt for delivery over the next 12 months. There have been criticisms about delays in the delivery of food aid and I have raised these with Commissioner Nielson and will raise them again at the Development Council next week. ECHO is assisting NGOs, primarily through support for supplementary feeding programmes. To date, 2 million euros has been disbursed through ECHO. An additional contribution of 3.3 million euros is being allocated to the International Committee of the Red Cross and NGOs and further contributions are being examined.