We always speak with truth, Senator Lanigan. Let us contrast Ireland's growing contribution to the developing world against that of the United States, which is the wealthiest country in the world. Senator Lanigan will agree with me on this. After making an initial promise to carry about 25 per cent of the sixth replenishment of the IDA in 1980-1983, the United States welched on its promise when the US Congress forced a rescheduling of the payments which led to a crisis within the IDA in 1983. Ireland was one of the countries which at that time responded very generously to make up the shortfall which was created by a decision which was taken on Capitol Hill in Washington. I said then and I say now that it was a most despicable act on the part of the most powerful country in the world, a country which has countless billions to spend on armaments of mass destruction, yet in this odious piece of tardiness it took from its contribution to the very poorest of the poor in the world.
I am delighted to see that section 2 of the Bill provides for a special contribution of £1.5 million which is to form part of our contribution to the Special Facility in the replenishment for sub-Saharan Africa. That facility is to amount to $1.1 billion. This money is to be spent on those countries in that region which have been worst affected by tragedy over the last numbers of years. We should mention that the total value of the seventh replenishment is to amount to approximately $9 billion. It is particularly sad that this is a large reduction on the value of the sixth replenishment which had currency between 1980 and 1983. That fund had $12 billion, which had to be augmented by the special contribution I mentioned. At the outset of the negotiation for the seventh replenishment a far greater fund than $12 billion was envisaged and it was set out at that time as being absolutely needed. But, because of the reluctance of the United States to take on a greater share, when the negotiations eventually ended last April a figure of only $9 billion could be agreed upon for this replenishment.
On the brighter side, however, at the conclusion of the negotiations this Special Facility of $1.1 billion was set up in addition to the $9 billion as a special fund for the worst afflicted countries. These countries are across the broad middle of the more northern part of Africa, usually called sub-Saharan in Africa. It is a very positive move in the sense that the funds from the facility will be made available to countries like Ethiopia, Sudan, Mali and other smaller countries which have been cursed by the destitutions of famine. These funds are to be used to support fundamental and basic reforms, especially in the area of agriculture, to be undertaken by the various governments. That is attacking the very fundamental and underlying problems of famine, food shortage and emergency needs in those areas. It is the purpose of this facility to get to the root cause of the famine.
One must thank the donor countries for making this special contribution, but again I must be critical of the US, which has refused to make a pledge to this fund. We also compliment the governors of the World Bank, who do not often come in for compliments, for identifying this special need and for giving the go-ahead for the negotiations on this facility to commence.
This special need was identified by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, when earlier this year, in one of its published reports, it stated that 20 of Africa's sub-Saharan countries would face very serious food deficits in 1985. I spoke here on the first report of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Co-operation with Developing Countries and in that speech I quoted fairly extensively from that report. That report focused fairly closely on what was emerging and, indeed, what was taking place not alone in the sub-Saharan region but right across that blighted dark continent.
If we focus again on that sub-Saharan region, which consists of countries like Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Chad and the Cape Verde Islands, which is an archipelago off the western coast of Africa but is an island nation, we see that in those countries collectively something like 200 million people live. According to the best estimates almost 35 million people in those areas were severely affected by drought and famine. In addition to this over ten million people across that continental region have left their homes and lands and become wandering nomads. They are in search of food, water and new pastures. They have with them their few wretched belongings and their half-starved and ever declining herds. This phenomenon of millions of people uprooting themselves, wandering hither and thither within their own countries and across each other's borders, has caused unbelievable havoc and destruction, both economic and social. It has also contributed to the continued weakening of these wretched people who are caught up in it. In a fundamental way it has disrupted the settled populations who have been affected by the movement of these people and has contributed in a major way to the spread of disease and a general decline in the state of health across the afflicted country.
This great natural disaster of drought has lasted over several consecutive years, and one of the results has been the major damaging and deleterious effect it has had upon the whole ecology of the region. There has been a disappearance or, at best, a drastic decline in food production. Because of the effects of drought and the withdrawal of husbandry, land which was once reasonably fertile has reverted to desert at a frightening speed. Not alone has the destruction caused a huge ecological and food production breakdown, but the old systems of delivery and distribution, which were allied with these economies when they were stable, have also broken down. This is another factor which makes matters worse and even more tragic. As output has fallen because of the drought, farmers no longer put back essential inputs. There is no purchase of new or essential services. Production shifts from essential grain like maize, sorghum and millet and to the production of cash crops like cotton, cocoa or coffee. This is a disastrous trend which has been taking place for the last 15 years or perhaps longer. While many people working in the area of development assistance saw the tragic consequences coming, it is a criticism of many of the official relief agencies and especially a criticism of the African Governments themselves that they failed to recognise or address the coming Armageddon.
There is now approximately 15 per cent less food produced in this area of Africa than there was ten years ago, while the population figures for this region have increased at least by that percentage figure. The great misfortune visited upon these countries can also be seen in another way. Their economies are primarily agriculture in base, and because the rate of increase of domestic food production has fallen behind the rate of increase of domestic population growth, this has always meant — even in better years — that they had to make up their food deficits by major grain importation from abroad. In recent years they have had to do this at an ever-increasing rate while at the same time the value of their exports has been gradually declining. Their exports are mostly raw ores or basic raw materials for western industry. In recent years the prices of many of these commodities have fallen, resulting in decreased return to the countries selling those resources. You have the awful problem of their running down their own natural resources by having to sell them in huge volumes to try to keep apace with the value of falling prices. They have had to use foreign exchange for the import of essential food imports. In addition to this, these countries have taken on an ever-increasing debt burden. All of these factors have combined to bring about a situation of utter stagnation within their economies and the normal development activities seem no longer to exist.
May I go back again to give an overview of the awful scale of the problem, using as my reference the United Nations report on emergency operations in Africa, which is a comment on the situation country by country? It is a comment on the worst affected countries as of 1 October 1985, but it also deals with the situation in the other African countries. If we look at Ethiopia — I take Ethiopia as the example because it is the one that is best identified in the Irish consciousness as far as the present African famine is concerned—we find that the latest report from these states that approximately eight million people are still affected by drought and hunger. The report feels that this figure is probably greater, due to the worsening situation in the western provinces of that country because of insurgency and because of the effects insurrection has on settled economic activity, especially food production. These problems exist mostly in the western provinces and in the province of Tigre, a place well known to people in this country.
We understand that in Tigre especially there is an ever-increasing number of famine victims reporting to distribution points. I agree that there are conflicting reports as to the effects of the official displacement of large portions of the population from the northern region. We have all read media reports about this, where it is claimed that the government have forced hundreds of thousands of people to move from the northern regions, which are the worst affected, to the southern regions. We are told that they are being moved from the worst affected areas to lands of greater fertility where the population density is lower and that the condition of the people who have been compulsorily moved from their former regions has greatly improved in their new environs. Contrary to that, we have received reports which told us that the displacement was totally enforced and that the condition of the people moved has deteriorated rapidly, with disease and hunger their continuing everyday lot.
However, there have been some other very encouraging reports coming out of Ethiopia recently. That is contained in the later report by the FAO issued in October. They state that the rainfall levels during the crucial months of August and September were generally about average. This is the first time in several years that this has taken place. The crops that were planted earlier were doing very well. However, it is generally felt that Ethiopia will need at least one million metric tonnes of food aid for distribution to at least six million people during 1986. Imagine six million people needing emergency food aid in 1986. It is one and a half times the population of Ireland, at least.
Regarding the problems of distribution of food to the worst affected areas, the report is not very encouraging. The condition of the major ports continues to be grossly inadequate and in many cases they are reported to be deteriorating. The condition of the internal railway system, always bad, is reported to be getting even worse. A similar situation would appear to obtain in the case of the internal road network, that is the road network that exists at all in that country. Many people in Ethiopia live at least one week's walk or longer from any kind of public road. However, it is hoped that the internal truck transport could improve because of the establishment of a United Nations truck fleet and we gather a large portion of the funds raised from the famous Band Aid concert last July will go towards aiding this. These trucks will be used as distribution vehicles throughout the country.
Another African country in which Ireland has a great interest and indeed with which it has very strong connections is Lesotho. When I talk about Lesotho I am moving away from the Central African portion to the very southern part of the Continent. Geographically Lesotho is placed within the borders of South Africa itself. We have a great interest in that country because it is one of the three countries which we have earmarked for our direct development assistance and official aid. It has been a relatively fortunate country up to now and it has never had the problems of drought and famine associated with the regions which are close to the Sahara. Now we find, unfortunately, that Lesotho, because of the vagaries of the African climate, is going to join the wretched league also. Last October the Prime Minister was forced to declare a national emergency because of the effects of famine and drought. There are also frightening reports about the deterioration of the health situation of the population of that country. There are reports of widespread outbreaks of typhoid, of tuberculosis, of dysentry and cholera, almost the biblical plagues. The reports states that fresh water supplies are drying out rapidly right across the country. Of course this is a major source of disease as well.
We are inclined to think that the problems of hunger can be answered simply with food donations. That is understandable because we see pictures of people starving, with distended stomachs etc., on television and we see their needs as being only food. That is totally inadequate thinking, because side by side with hunger always goes disease. The non-food aspect of emergency relief is an aspect which is often forgotten and is of equal importance. Very often it is of greater importance. I make that point because in the case of Lesotho, for instance, we find that less than 2 per cent of the non-food emergency relief needs have been covered by pledges of the various donors. That is less than 2 per cent of the non-food needs and the non-food needs are the ones that I have gone through in relation to health, sanitation etc.
Ireland's direct assistance to this country has been in the field of agricultural development and the provision of water supplies. These have been concentrated in specific projects. We understand they are doing very well. They are having a great impact within the areas where the effects of these developments can be seen or communicated. However, it is very tragic to read that cereal production has fallen short by 30,000 metric tonnes of the expected figure and there is no doubt that Lesotho will be on the primary list of countries needing emergency food aid in 1986 and 1987 and perhaps beyond.
Sudan is another country where we have a direct interest because we have a number of direct assistance programmes going on there also. One of them is a very interesting one which relates to the development of dairying projects. However, we read that, according to the latest figures copiled for last September, the number of people affected by the emergency has increased from 8.5 million to a figure close on nine million. These are mainly located in the eastern, northern and central regions of that country. Approximately two million people are suffering from very severe malnutrition and many of the larger cities have had areas which have been completely overrun with a huge influx of people fleeing from their rural communities where famine and pestilence have destroyed the community fabric. New cities of destitute squatters are being created on the fringes of the larger towns and especially the cities. There are tens and perhaps hundreds of thousands of people with no shelter, very little food and of course seething with discontent.
Naturally, all of that adds up to a frightening prospect. Sudan has had a change of Government by the medium of a military coup which took place in the middle of this year. One of the main reasons the coup leaders put forward for taking power from the previous regime was that that Government — the Nimeiri Government — had failed to tackle the problems of food shortage and all the attendant evils. Perhaps it is too early to judge at this point, but there is no evidence that the new Government in Khartoum are any more effective in dealing with the problem than the ousted Government of Nimeiri
Of the more newly independent African nations south of the Sahara region we might take a look at two former Portuguese colonies, Angola and Mozambique. They are well known to people reading the media in this country because of prolonged independence struggles in the seventies. It is particularly sad for those countries that internal insurgency and civil strife and, in the case of Mozambique, strife on its borders — there is a continuing conflict with South Africa and South Africa makes almost daily raids — is a major determinant in causing the food and health emergencies in both of these countries. There are widespread reports of measles, of cholera, of tuberculosis and other diseases related to malnutrition from both Angola and Mozambique. Allied to this, seed shortages, shortages of fertilisers and other essential agricultural inputs and diminishing supply of material goods for barter trading are all part of the daily output of misery coming from that region of Africa. The FAO predict that for 1986 and 1987 emergency food relief and other emergency non-food aid will be life and death matters both in the cases of Angola and Mozambique.
In Zimbabwe, the largest of the more newly independent African nations, it is very heartening to read the reports of the FAO and to see that, despite internal strife and all the problems that any new independent nation has in settling down, the food emergency which existed there in the earlier years of independence from 1979 and 1980 onwards has practically ended now. That is a very good development.
In Zimbabwe, the Food and Agricultural Organisation are saying that the Government there have now focused on the rehabilitation and the development of food production resources which the governments of many countries in Africa have totally forgotten about or would appear to have totally ignored. The FAO credit the Government in Zimbabwe with tackling the problem. Zimbabwe is now reported to have a surplus of maize, much of which is exported. The Government there have a plan to store at least 500,000 metric tonnes of cereals as a strategic food reserve this year.
Briefly, I would like to refer to such countries as Mauritania, Mali, Niger and Chad, which are more familiar to us. Those countries between them comprise the greater part of the central African region. In Mauritania the indications are that the prospects and the general conditions for harvesting will be favourable this year. However, another great plague is reported from this country — an explosive increase in the numbers of grasshoppers. These insects have a capacity to destroy, and indeed are destroying, thousands of hectares of newly-emerging crops. This highlights the breakdown in essential inputs like pesticides.
In Mali, the most recent reports state that for the first time in a decade the rainfall levels have been close to normal. However, as in Mauritania, crops are threatened by the ever-spreading plague of grasshoppers. Yields are much lower than they should be because of lack of fertilisers and of pesticide use. However, against that, the general report is that the nutritional status of the affected population has improved in Mali and the disease situation seems to have at least stabilised. This country reports a very severe fuel shortage, especially fuel for cooking.
The situation in Chad, relatively speaking, is not that bad. Chad itself in recent times had a major problem with internal insurgency which we are told Colonel Gadaffi had a hand in. Apparently, the political situation seems to have quietened down within its borders as of this year. It is estimated that the output of cereals in Chad this year will be approximately in line with the national need. They need about 650,000 tonnes and that amount should be produced. However, the major problem of this country would appear to be that it will have a food surplus in the south and east while there will be a major food deficit in the northern and eastern regions of the Sahara Desert. Internal transportation is in an appalling state, which greatly hampers the logistical problem of getting the food from areas of surplus to areas of need. The fear of major famine, especially in the Sahara region, exists for 1986 and beyond. This country has 1.5 million people affected by famine and almost .5 million of those are displaced persons. They can only be described as refugees.
The last country on this list of nations which are outside the area of sub-Sahara is Tanzania, which is like Lesotho. Sudan is another country where we have direct involvement. Our Government are directly involved with assistance programmes in this country. Tanzania had major food problems in 1982 and 1983, and, indeed, in 1984. However, the most recent reports are much more optimistic. A good rainfall has been reported and food production is said to be back to normal. This is a very good development.
We would like to make the point that this restoration of the normal pattern of production has more to do with good government policies that it has to do with the improvement in the climate. For this one must singularly congratulate the Tanzanian Government for their understanding of the nature of the problem they faced and for tackling it in a manner which had very successful results.
