On Tuesday 30 August, the European Commission gave an update to the European Parliament’s Development Committee on the risk of famine in the Horn of Africa and the Sahel and on the EU’s response to “address the immediate but also structural problems”, in line with the report adopted in June by the European Parliament on food security and nutrition in developing countries (see EUROPE 12987/4), said Tomas Tobé (EPP, Swedish).
On the same day, the World Food Programme announced on Twitter that the first shipment of Ukrainian grain to Ethiopia since the UN-sponsored agreement had arrived at the port of Djibouti. Ethiopia, Somalia, Nigeria and Sudan are the countries most at risk of famine.
The Commission’s Humanitarian Aid Director for sub-Saharan Africa, Andrea Koulaimah, painted a bleak picture: the Horn of Africa has suffered four heavy rainy seasons and an unprecedented fifth rainy season is coming. “Drought is already affecting 36.1 million people in Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya. There are now almost permanent drought conditions, with extremely serious humanitarian consequences year after year. The Russian invasion and its effect on global grain supplies and energy prices has further aggravated the food insecurity crisis in both regions”, she said.
In the Sahel, 3 million people are in a pre-famine condition and it is estimated that the war will push another 10 million into a food crisis. In East Africa, the price of the food basket has increased by 53%. “In total, about 85 million people are facing a food crisis in the two regions combined, a figure that is estimated to increase further. The emergency will therefore continue in 2023”.
According to her, the response strategy to famine in the 2 regions is based on three elements: 1) a multi-sectoral response to meet needs: nutrition, food, livelihoods, water, sanitation, access to health, education and personal protection, and the provision of cash; and 2) “as far as possible”, proactive action that preserves livelihoods and prevents the impact of the crisis on the most vulnerable populations from worsening. “However, due to lack of funding, humanitarian partners are often faced with difficult choices to prioritise the starving over the hungry”; 3) targeting beneficiaries wherever they are, even in conflict zones.
Noting the humanitarian aid already mobilised by the EU for the Sahel and East Africa in December 2021, she announced that the European Development Fund (EDF) committee will next week discuss the €150 million in humanitarian aid that will go mainly to Africa out of the €600 million in EDF reserves to be reallocated in response to food insecurity (see EUROPE 12976/15).
She provided assurances that the EU will continue to step up its assistance by combining emergency and longer-term aid to “tackle the roots of the problem” and by raising awareness in the international community.
“€150 million in humanitarian aid will give a clear signal to increase local production. If we want to reduce vulnerability to international markets, we need to strengthen local markets, resilience and reduce dependence on fossil fuels, reduce the cost of fertilisers closely linked to the cost of gas and oil”, said Leonardo Mizzi, Head of Unit of the Commission’s International Partnerships Department.
Updated data on the situation in the Sahel and the Horn of Africa will be provided to the Global Food Security Network, in preparation for the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in 3 weeks.
While the EU has been able to move 9 million tonnes of grain out of Ukraine through solidarity channels and the Black Sea initiative has been able to move about 1 million tonnes, 12 million tonnes still need to be moved, not counting the 2022-2023 harvests, he noted.
In his view, the EU and its Member States should continue to use political dialogue in international fora (UNGA, the World Food Programme’s Committee on Food Security in Rome in October, the G20, the G7 and the COP27 on the climate in November). (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)