Food insecurity, conflict, political instability hit Horn of Africa

Source: Xinhua | 05-08-2009 16:03

NAIROBI, May 8 (Xinhua) -- The ongoing combination of chronic food insecurity, conflict and political instability is threatening the well being and lives of millions of children in the Horn of Africa, the UN children's fund (UNICEF) said on Friday.

UNICEF warned in a statement issued in Nairobi that unless urgent action was taken, millions more families could be made vulnerable is now a reality.

"Over the last few months we have witnessed a steady increase in the numbers of children suffering from acute malnutrition, which means more children are at risk of death and disease," said Dorothy Rozga, UNICEF's Deputy Regional Director for East and Southern Africa.

"We are witnessing an all too familiar tragedy unfolding, and unless we act with much greater urgency the situation for children can only get worse," she said.

Already an estimated 19.8 million people, including 4 million children under the age of five, are in need of emergency relief assistance.

This is a substantial increase over the September 2008 figure of 14 million people requiring emergency assistance.

According to UNICEF, the combination of erratic weather patterns, the global economic crisis and heightened conflict and insecurity including the hijacking of ships off the Somali coast are all contributing to the emergency.

"We need to defy the status quo. We desperately need national governments to demonstrate strong leadership and fulfill their responsibilities to protect their poorest and most vulnerable," said Rozga.

"We also urgently need international donors to provide funding to respond to the immediate impact as well as the underlying causes, while we in the relief and development sector, led by governments, need to find better ways to work with communities to mitigate their vulnerability."

UNICEF said data collected from nutrition surveillance and feeding centers indicate growing numbers of children suffering from acute malnutrition, a condition which if not treated quickly can lead to death.

In eastern Kenya, UNICEF said a major cholera outreach caused by poor water and sanitation is also contributing to acute malnutrition and mortality while in Somalia, acute malnutrition nationwide is above 18.6 per cent and in some areas as high as 20 per cent.

In Djibouti, global acute malnutrition rate remains above the WHO threshold. Between December 2007 and December 2008 there was an increase in the number of malnourished children in the country from 7,302 to 18,417 cases with children at highest risk in peri-urban areas of Djibouti City and the Northwest Region.

In Eritrea, the "Bahari" rainy season, which normally arrives in October, was late and erratic.

In the Gash Barka and Anseba provinces of the country, rates of acute malnutrition were above the WHO emergency threshold of 15 percent, and by February this year admission rates to therapeutic feeding centers were already two to six fold higher than in 2008.

"In Ethiopia, given the late start of Belg rains and the approaching hunger gap, there are indications that poor food security and nutrition conditions in some parts of the country may get worse," the UN agency said.

According to UNICEF, access to safe water and sanitation is extremely limited in the region, making it highly susceptible to outbreaks of waterborne disease.

It said Cholera and diarrhoeal diseases have been reported in Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Somalia, further threatening the lives of children.

In Kenya, between early January and mid April, a cholera outbreak affected more than 2,000 people in 20 districts, the UN children's agency said.

In Somalia the continued violence in Mogadishu has hampered access to cholera treatment and care, it said. A major outreach of acute watery diarrhea has been reported in Southern Ethiopia.

"UNICEF, working closely with humanitarian partners, is seeking to scale up assistance to reach the most vulnerable and ensure a full package of services, including provision of health care, access to safe water and sanitation, treatment for malnutrition, as well as child protection safety nets such as cash grants," it said.

Already UNICEF is working closely with partners to strengthen nutrition surveillance systems, scale up community-based feeding and improve access to safe water and good sanitation.

"These efforts have resulted in a dramatic increase in overall treatment capacity for SAM in Ethiopia, from an estimated 20,000 cases per month in January 2008 to some 80,000 cases at any given time. This innovative system needs to be supported and complemented by UNICEF and other partners," it said.

Editor:Zhang Yun