Famine and hunger

2017 situation update: Humanitarian assistance is urgently needed in East Africa. Without immediate scale-up of international action, famine is likely to spread and put millions of lives at risk. 

Across Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and South Sudan, a hunger crisis has put 22 million people in urgent need of life-saving humanitarian assistance.

The drivers of food insecurity in each country are different. In Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia, poor performance of rains has led to consecutive failed harvests, disease outbreaks, worsening water and pasture conditions for livestock, and animal deaths.

In South Sudan, internal conflict – combined with a depleted harvest – has been the main cause of food insecurity. Famine has already been declared in some parts of the country and other areas are now on the brink.

There is a small window of time to prevent this situation from getting much worse. At present the crisis is not getting the attention it needs to ensure children and families are protected from catastrophe. 

Through our East Africa Emergency Appeal, we are urgently raising funds so we can help those affected meet their immediate needs in nutrition, health, livelihoods, shelter, child protection and water, sanitation and hygiene. 

Let’s be honest, hunger doesn’t sound as serious. For those living above the poverty line, hunger is just something you feel before dinner.

But for many who live in developing nations, hunger means a potentially fatal lack of nutrients. These deficiencies lead to impaired cognitive development in children, stillbirths and congenital abnormalities. They also reduce the body’s capacity to fight disease.

The most common cause of hunger is insufficient money. Even in famine zones, those with money often have easier access to food.

Regions like the desert states of the Gulf are less fertile than any African country. But because they have money to sustain themselves, they aren’t as hungry.

The second major cause of hunger is a lack of fertile land to grow food on.

Africa’s soil, for example, absorbs little water and hardens when exposed to sun and air. This makes it almost impossible to cultivate.

Many factors contribute to land infertility including drought, poor growing conditions, deforestation and farmers not having the opportunity to learn modern farming methods.

There’s enough food in the world to feed everyone. But control over resources and income is based on military, political and economic power that the minority hold. Those without equal fortune get left behind.