A year ago, in July 2011, I travelled to Dollow, a Somali border town, the last stop for refugees from war and hunger before they crossed into neighbouring Ethiopia. The severe drought, combined with chronic abject poverty and conflict, had pushed the whole Horn of Africa into a hunger crisis. In Dollow and all around south and central Somalia, the situation was so dire that the United Nations declared famine.
Now, a year later, the rains have come, the famine has abated, but the indelible mark of the drought remains. It’s casting a dark shadow upon families weakened by the crisis for years to come and upon children forever stunted by malnutrition.
There will be more droughts in the Horn of Africa, they will be more dramatic than in the past and will come more frequently. This unforgivable impact of climate change does not bode well for the impoverished populations of Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti. But there are no grounds for despair: drought does not have to lead to hunger or stifle development. If we manage to help the communities of the region build their resilience, so that their herds and crops can survive the inhospitable climate, so that they have water and sufficient security, so that they have the perspective for development, then we can break the vicious cycle between drought and human suffering.
We, in the humanitarian community, are the most passionate advocates of resilience because we witness first-hand the enormous tragedies that follow from its absence. Our aid saves lives, but it cannot solve alone the problems that cause humanitarian crises. This is why, in regions that are plagued by chronic problems, like the Horn of Africa, we work hard not just to bring relief, but also to build bridges to development assistance and ensure that we set the foundations for long-term improvement.
So in the Horn of Africa, while continuing our humanitarian help to the nearly 10 million people who need it, we are also moving to the next phase: preparing for the next drought and making sure it does not trigger a similar crisis. Our strategy for the long-term is called SHARE (“Supporting Horn of Africa Resilience”) and is currently investing 250 million EUR in projects that support our belief that drought does not have to equal hunger.
The road ahead will be long and winding, but Europe is ready to commit to the long walk along with the most vulnerable people in the Horn of Africa so that together we can make sure there will be famine no more. To succeed would not only be the best way to honor the victims of last year’s crisis – it will also brighten their future.
