Horn of Africa
An Alliance for Global Development
Originally posted on the White House Blog.
When Prime Minister Cameron meets President Obama in Washington today it will have been ten months since our two countries signed a new Partnership for Global Development. The partnership outlines specific areas where we are focusing our collective efforts, reaffirming our commitment to saving lives and improving human welfare around the world.
If you needed proof of how much more we can achieve by working together than acting alone, our response to the food crisis in the Horn of Africa demonstrates the transformative impact of our partnership.
Over the last ten months, USAID and the UK’s Department for International Development’s (DFID) leadership and decisive action in the region has helped avert an even larger catastrophe. As heads of our nations’ respective development agencies, we have both visited the Horn of Africa and seen for ourselves the scale of the crisis, which placed more than 13.3 million people in need of emergency assistance. That is roughly the combined population of London and Washington. (Watch this video of Rajiv Shah and Dr. Jill Biden’s visit to the Horn of Africa last year)
While the drought was regional, the crisis only led to famine in southern Somalia, where a governance failure and lack of access obstructed international relief efforts. This underscores the importance of the recent London Conference on Somalia hosted by Prime Minister Cameron that brought together over 50 countries and international organizations to consider how best to support Somalia not only on development but on issues like piracy, the political process and security. DFID led a parallel set of discussions on preventing future humanitarian crises.
Thanks to the generosity of the British and American people, our nations led a significant humanitarian response that helped save hundreds of thousands of lives in Somalia alone, and reached millions of people across the region with food, health care, and water and sanitation services.
But we must do more than provide relief. We must help countries build resilience, so they are prepared for disasters before they hit. USAID’s Famine Early Warning System provided some of the first alerts of the impending crisis, giving us time to pre-position food and health supplies in advance. And many of our programs on the ground have allowed families and smallholder farmers to weather the crisis.
FY13 Budget: Making Smart Investments
The Fiscal Year 2013 International Affairs budget, which was released on February 13, showcases President Obama’s commitment to making smart, efficient investments to help those in the greatest need while helping to create economic opportunity and safeguarding American security.
It is important to remember that these numbers represent lives around the world that can be supported and saved through our smart investments in agriculture, health, and access to clean water, among other programs. And these investments come at an incredibly small fraction of our national budget—in the case of development assistance, less than one percent.
Similar investments we made last year demonstrated a number of important results. Thanks to our investments in humanitarian assistance, we were able to save tens of thousands of lives in the Horn of Africa after a devastating drought led to famine and threw over 13 million people into crisis. U.S. support helped provide lifesaving AIDS drugs to nearly 4 million people, protect 200,000 infants from HIV infection and keep millions of children throughout Africa safe from malaria. And our agricultural investments are supporting the goal of lifting 18 million people from a state of hunger and poverty.
Despite those results, we’ve had to make difficult choices this year, consolidating some programs and eliminating others. Our 2013 budget shows a willingness to focus on countries and programs where we believe we can make the greatest impact.
Global health is a key part of our investment in economic and human security. Our request goes to cost-effective, proven global health interventions delivered through President Obama’s Global Health Initiative. These investments will help achieve a number of the President’s ambitious global health goals, including saving the lives of five million children by the year 2015, and expanding HIV/AIDS treatment. Thanks to the falling costs of health commodities, including contraceptives, malaria bednets and antiretroviral drugs, and increased investments by partner governments, we can now save more lives.
$1 billion of our FY 2013 request is devoted to Feed the Future, President Obama’s landmark food security initiative. These investments will help countries develop their own agricultural economies and grow their way out of hunger and poverty, rather than relying on humanitarian food aid that costs us seven times as much to deliver. We’ve also designed a results framework so we can transparently measure and demonstrate the impact our investments have made in fighting poverty, hunger and malnutrition.
Our budget request maintains robust funding for our humanitarian accounts. Efficiencies in our use of these resources will ensure we have the necessary means to continue U.S. leadership in responding to natural and man-made disasters, just as we did last year after a devastating drought in the Horn of Africa. In addition, we continue to increase our focus on preventing future crises through disaster risk reduction activities and funding for greater resilience against food shocks through Feed the Future.
USAID in the News
Weekly Briefing (1/23/2012 – 1/27/2012)
January 25: The Guardian wrote an article highlighting faith based organizations role in providing relief in the Horn of Africa. Zeenat Rahman, Acting Director of USAID’s Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, stated that, “When Christian, Muslim and Jewish NGOs work together on an issue like feeding the hungry, their collective quest toward a common good can cut across their traditions when they meet others of differing theologies who are doing the same thing.”
January 26: The Financial Times (registration required) published a story previewing the upcoming launch of USAID’s Youth in Development policy, which will focus on engaging young adults in developing countries. While USAID has long provided assistance in youth programs, this new policy will specifically concentrate on utilizing technology to connect and empower people to become leaders in shaping their communities and economies.
USAID in the News
Weekly Briefing (1/9/2012 – 1/13/2012)
January 11: Foreign Policy published a Letter to the Editor written by Ambassador Ertharin Cousin and USAID Assistant Administrator Nancy Lindborg. The letter provided clarification describing U.S. food aid and highlighted the fact that aid is distributed after careful analysis and in a competitive manner. Furthermore, the letter states that USAID now has a program that uses cash, vouchers, and local and regional food purchases to ensure “we reach people more quickly with the right type of response based on local conditions.”
January 11: In The Miami Herald, USAID Administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah published an op-ed citing the accomplishments in Haiti, two years after the 7.0 magnitude earthquake. “Over half of the 10 million tons of rubble has been cleared from Port-au-Prince’s streets, more people have access to clean water today than before the earthquake, and collective efforts have mitigated the outbreak of cholera that killed thousands in the country.” In addition to rescue efforts, the U.S. is also working to rebuild the country. “With the leadership of Secretary Clinton, we are trying to harness the transformative power of science, technology and innovation to accelerate economic progress and improve lives throughout Haiti.”
January 11: OhMyGov! published a story on the Famine, War, Drought (FWD) Campaign being led by USAID. The article highlighted the important role social media has played in the campaign, as well as the dramatic increase USAID has experienced in Facebook followers. According to OhMyGov’s media analysis platform, during the week of December 22-29, USAID’s Facebook page experienced a 27% growth in total Facebook fans, amassing nearly 12,000 new fans in just seven days.
January 12: On NPR’s Talk of the Nation and Tell Me More programs, USAID Administrator Dr. Rajiv Shah and USAID Deputy Administrator Donald Steinberg were interviewed to discuss the two-year anniversary of the Haiti Earthquake. In both interviews, Administrator Shah and Steinberg stated that the U.S. remains committed to supporting and investing in Haiti.
January 12: Mark Feierstein, Assistant Administrator for USAID’s Bureau for Latin America and the Caribbean, published an op-ed in The Huffington Post discussing the progress being made in Haiti. In addition to playing a critical role in the immediate aftermath of the earthquake, “the United States is helping Haiti create jobs, boost agricultural production, more effectively deliver services, expand access to health care and provide higher quality education to its youth.”
Water Security in the Horn of Africa
In the Horn of Africa, millions of people face each day without knowing if they will have clean water to drink or food to eat. This uncertainty about access to the basic essentials of life stunts security and growth, and affects all people from young to old.
American assistance to the Horn of Africa is beginning to make a difference, however, and in this series about water security in the Horn, we will showcase how water projects are helping people gain predictable access to clean water as a first step to gaining a foothold on a better life.
Water Filters Save Lives in Somalia
Lainie Reisman and George Mwangi of Education Development Center, Inc.
Somali Youth Install a Water Filter. Photo Credit: EDC
In the midst of the severe drought in Somalia, access to safe water remains an urgent human need for millions of people. One of the programs that is making a difference is a USAID-funded effort that gives Somali youth an opportunity to earn money while increasing access to safe drinking water. The program, called “Shaqodoon” in Somali, is run by Biofit, a local Somali non-governmental organization, in partnership with the U.S.-based Education Development Center. More than 350 Somali youth have participated so far by launching their own businesses to manufacture and sell long-lasting water treatment filters that are easy to use and affordable for community members.
Mohamed and Said are two young people in the Bari region who have benefitted from the program. After receiving training, they formed a team, believing that by working together they could produce higher quality units. According to Mohamed and Said, “Our target is to manufacture four units per month, and make a net income of $100.” Mohamed proudly noted that they have already received three orders from one community, and they are expecting more orders to come in.
Families benefit from the filters because they provide a sustainable, and less expensive, source of clean water. Karon, a 37-year-old mother living with her three children in Camp Tawakal, a camp for internally displaced persons in Bossaso, became one of the first to use the Biofit filters. With water a precious commodity in the camps, Karon used to buy 12 liters of purified water a day from local factories so that her children would not suffer the grave consequences of drinking contaminated water. But the costs of purchasing water were high—nearly 20 percent of her total income—so she invested in the water filter and expects to pay off the costs within three months. This filter gives her a reliable source of clean water for her children while also helping the youth businesses in the community.
The “Shaqodoon” program is an example of how American assistance supports local investment and solutions while providing critical support to the most needy.
Building Resilience in the Horn of Africa
Nancy Lindborg is USAID’s Assistant Administrator for the Bureau for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance.
The drought gripping the Horn of Africa has focused all of us on the imperative of building resilience. We know we can’t prevent drought, but we can use improved and smarter programs to create greater resilience and improve food security. We can make progress that ensures the next time a drought hits the Horn, it won’t push 13.4 million people — unimaginably more than New York City and Los Angeles combined — into crisis.
So what is resilience exactly, and what are the key methods for success? In pursuit of that answer, USAID convened last week, in partnership with IFPRI and our many partners, a two day workshop on “Enhancing Resilience in the Horn of Africa: An Evidence Workshop on Strategies for Success.” Through President Obama’s Feed the Future initiative, the U.S. government now has a powerful global hunger and food security initiative that connects its enduring commitment to humanitarian assistance with increased investments in agriculture and nutrition and sound policy. This workshop was designed to inform our programs with the our best lessons and strategies for tackling chronic food insecurity.
“Resilience” is quite literally the ability to jump back; to return to original form. It has become a vivid one-word way to capture the importance of providing emergency assistance in a way that helps families and communities both withstand shocks and, as importantly, become more stable and food secure. While there is not a common accepted definition of resilience, building resilience generally involves reducing the likelihood and severity of crises; building capacity to buffer or absorb shocks; creating and enhancing communities’ or families’ ability to respond; and reducing the impact of crises.
The workshop underscored how much we have already learned from previous drought and famines. In Ethiopia in 2002-2003, drought left 14 million people in need of emergency aid – more than those currently in need throughout the entire Horn region today. Out of that tragedy grew policies, programs, and approaches that have made a lasting impact. In fact, some 7.5 million fewer people in Ethiopia are not part of the emergency caseload because of the work collectively done since the last drought.
FWD Campaign and MTV Announce Celebrity Auction for the Horn of Africa
Today, MTV Act, in partnership with USAID and the Ad Council, has launched the “MTV Fights Hunger Auction,” an online holiday auction that features garb from celebrities and favorite MTV stars such as the cast of the Jersey Shore. All proceeds go to a group of eight NGOs working on the ground in the Horn of Africa to help victims.
This is the next action of USAID’s FWD Campaign to raise awareness about the crisis, where millions are living without access to regular food and water.
Auctioned items include a signed guitar strap from Nick Jonas, a signed copy of Kelly Clarkson’s new album, an autographed skateboard and deck from champion skateboarder Rob Dyrdek, a signed t-shirt from Trey Songz, and lots of memorabilia from Jersey Shore stars.
Two items are expected to generate a lot of buzz: tickets to a taping of the Jersey Shore after-show in Los Angeles and tickets to MTV’s New Year’s party in Times Square.
The auction will run through December 18th.
Check out the auction items and learn how you can get more involved in stopping the crisis with USAID’s FWD Campaign.
FWD Day is Over—The Famine is Not.
Though FWD Day has ended, Somalis continue to walk miles for food, and so we too must march on for the cause.
The USAID-funded Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWSNET) just released data that indicates improvements in food security in all areas of Somalia, largely driven by humanitarian assistance. However famine conditions remain in three areas in southern Somalia and will likely persist until early 2012. We know from past famines that when we stop assistance too early, we have new spikes of mortality and disease.
Refugees are Still Walking for Food. Photo credit: EAFC
As the famine maintains its deadly grip on the Horn of Africa through the New Year, the American response must not waver. If you haven’t already, you can continue to amplify the message by creating and uploading your own videos about the crisis in the Horn to our FWD YouTube page. We had more than 40 video submissions from Americans throughout the country on FWD>Day. Now it’s your turn to make your own FWD video and upload it to our YouTube site.
You can also create a proposal to amplify the message about the crisis in your local community. As is mentioned in our November 17th blog post, USAID, in partnership with GOOD Inc. has launched an online contest for Americans to submit proposals on how to raise awareness in their communities.
Proposals will be accepted through November 28th. At that point the public will vote on which proposal they believe will have the most impact. GOOD will provide the winning proposal $5,000 to implement their plan locally. Check out the contest and submit your proposals.
FWD Day confirms it, and we must repeat it: It doesn’t take a lot—it just takes a lot of us. Let our nation never become tired of doing good.
New FEWS Data – Updated 11/18/2011
Moving Forward
The facts are hard to fully grasp: across the Horn of Africa, there are 13.3 million people in crisis – more than the populations in the cities of Los Angeles and New York combined.
And the crisis is the worst in Somalia, a country gripped by two decades of conflict. Somalis, primarily women and children, have streamed across the borders into Ethiopia and Kenya in search of life-saving food. For those still in Somalia, an early September report (pdf) was heart-wrenching: four million Somalis in crisis, with 750,000 at risk of starvation if critical assistance didn’t reach them over the next few months.
USAID, working with partners, has moved forward with critical and life-saving assistance. We know from past famines that the biggest killer of children weakened by lack of food is preventable diseases. So we have worked to provide vaccinations, clean water and basic hygiene. For nearly six months, our emergency teams have worked to save lives in one of the most difficult places in the world to reach those most in need.
And now, we finally have some good news to report. The USAID-funded Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWSNET) and the U.N. Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit (FSNAU) released the latest data from Somalia today. The latest information (pdf) indicates improvements in food security in all areas of Somalia, largely driven by humanitarian assistance, which has significantly improved household food access. Humanitarian assistance has also contributed to sharp drops in food prices, which nonetheless remain above average.
Famine conditions have abated in three of the six areas previously declared as experiencing ongoing famine in southern Somalia. Conditions have improved from famine to emergency levels in Bay, Bakool, and Lower Shabelle regions. Though the data shows improvement, famine conditions persist in Middle Shabelle region and the areas of Mogadishu and Afgoye.
Let me clearly note that while the number of Somalis at risk of imminent starvation has dropped, four million Somalis remain in need of humanitarian assistance through August 2012. We are not declaring victory, but we are heartened to have this critical data affirming that we are reaching many of those so desperately in need of help.
Unfortunately, we also know that the crisis is far from over. We know from past famines that when we stop assistance too early, we have new spikes of mortality and disease.
It is too early to ease up on assistance in Somalia or across the Horn, where more than $750 million in U.S. assistance continues to provide food, treatment for the severely malnourished, health care, clean water, proper sanitation, and hygiene education and supplies to help 4.6 million people in Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Somalia.
We remain committed to providing vital emergency assistance, and we continue to look ahead – especially in Ethiopia and Kenya, where we can literally “Feed the Future” by building sustainable solutions through investments in agriculture, livelihoods and health.
And with today’s report, we know we are on the right track in Somalia, but our life-saving efforts continue. Those in the midst of this crisis still need our help, and you can be part of the solution. Join us.
A $5,000 Prize for the Best Plan to Spread Awareness About the Horn of Africa Crisis
As featured on Good
The largest humanitarian crisis in the world today is happening in the Horn of Africa, where more than 13 million people are suffering from a deadly famine caused by decades of conflict, instability and the worst drought the region has seen in 60 years.
A $5,000 Prize for the Best Plan to Spread Awareness About the Horn of Africa Crisis
The devastation has spread across four countries, ravaging farmlands, displacing families and killing tens of thousands in Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Somalia. Conditions in southern Somalia are reported to be especially severe. There, emergency assistance continues to be limited or denied, even as many families are forced to walk more than one hundred miles in search of their next meal and children are dying hourly from malnutrition and starvation.
Shockingly, only a fraction of the American public recognizes the urgency of the situation, and according to a recent national survey released by the Ad Council, 52 percent of us aren’t even aware that this catastrophe is occurring at all. In response to these statistics, the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Ad Council have launched FWD, a major multimedia and public awareness campaign that aims to connect people to the East Africa relief efforts in new and creative ways. FWD, as you might have wondered, stands for famine, war and drought. It represents a call to action to “FWD” the facts about the crisis and spark a community-wide dialogue about how to respond.
GOOD is heeding this call by teaming up with USAID and the Ad Council to offer the next challenge on GOOD Maker, our new collaborative platform connecting fresh ideas with the funds needed to make good happen. We’re asking you to tell us how you would use $5,000 to help raise awareness for the Horn of Africa crisis in your community,whether by hosting a local event or starting your own grassroots campaign. Participate in the challenge by submitting a proposal here between now and November 28. We’ll review each entry, and from November 28 to December 12, the public will vote on which idea would have the most impact. GOOD will award the winner $5,000 to implement the plan locally, and the top-voted submission will be featured in digital and social media channels by USAID and the Ad Council.
