In the wake of the devastating drought afflicting the East African region and the Great Horn of Africa, Parliamentarians in Africa and Europe are calling for concerted efforts by the international community to find lasting solutions to the debilitating famine.
Members of East African Legislative Assembly (EALA) joined other Parliamentarians from 30 nations under the aegis of the Association of European Parliamentarians with Africa (AWEPA) in appealing for concrete aid and support to the region and Somalia in particular.
Specifically, the case in Somalia came up for mention on the sidelines of the Polish Presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU) Seminar held in Warsaw, Poland on July 26, 2011 and organised by the Polish Sejm (Parliament) and the Senate in conjunction with the AWEPA. The Parliamentarians had convened at the Polish Parliament for a discussion themed: African Development Strategies towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
According to a statement issued from the AWEPA headquarters in Amsterdam, The Netherlands yesterday, Ms. Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland and a member of the AWEPA’s Eminent Advisory Board, shared her grave concern about the spreading famine in Somalia in a letter last month.
Ms. Robinson urged Members of Parliament in Europe and Africa to step-up their role in building awareness around the issue stating, “Somalia’s people were at the centre of a perfect storm”. She condemned the reluctance on part of the international community to provide help declaring, “the rest of the world needed to take appropriate responsibility.”
The letter ignited further action among AWEPA’s Governing Council and Members of Parliament from Europe and Africa who attended the seminar.
EALA was represented at the seminar by the Speaker, Rt. Hon Abdirahin Abdi, Hon Augustine C. Loile Lotodo, Hon. Dan Kidega, Hon. Emerence Bucumi and Mr Kenneth Madete, Clerk of the regional Assembly.
Led by MPs from Ireland and the EALA, a recommendation was agreed upon advocating for funding noting that the situation in Somalia had over the last 20 years degenerated into a complex political, humanitarian and security catastrophe for the people of Somalia, its neighbouring countries and the entire international community.
The parliamentarians urged for increase in famine relief efforts by European States and EU institutions, commensurate to their sizes. They further pledged to create awareness amongst their peoples to move beyond pledges and promises in order to ‘turn money in to action’ on the ground. Such a move they said would help save the millions in Somalia and the region at risk of starvation. In addition, they committed to seeking a lasting solution for the many challenges facing Somalia.
The East African region and the Great Horn of Africa are facing the worst humanitarian crises in decades. An initiative in Kenya dubbed “Kenya for Kenyans” has seen ordinary individuals and corporate companies raise close to Kshs 500 million (over USD 5.5 Million) in the boldest demonstration of solidarity with those in dire need of food in the northern parts of the country. The home-grown initiative was mooted by the corporate world and media organisations to complement efforts by the government in staving off hunger.
According to various sources, refugees from Somalia have continued to stream in to Kenya due to the severe famine in Somalia. An estimated 370,000 Somali refugees are at the Dadaab camp in Northern Kenya, which was opened eleven years back to accommodate people fleeing the civil war in Somalia. The overcrowding in the camp (almost four times the capacity) has been largely attributed also to lack of food. Just last week, the United Nations increased its appeals for Somalia and Kenya by $ 600 million.
Last week, the East African Community hinted at establishing a Joint Strategic Grain Reserve to address the recurrent drought spells and famine in the region. In a statement delivered on behalf of the EAC Secretary General, Amb. Dr. Richard Sezibera, by the Director of Productive and Social Sectors, Dr. Nyamajeje Calleb-Weggoro, the EAC said it had put in place adequate policy measures and practical concrete actions geared towards responding to food insecurity. These emanate from the approval by the Summit of Heads of State of two important instruments namely: the EAC Food Security Action Plan and EAC Climate Change Policy in December last year. The EAC is also calling on full implementation of the provisions of the EAC Common Market Protocol that provides for free movement of goods and services including food commodities and conservation of environment.
The provisions of the Common Market Protocol also call for the removal of technical barriers to trade such as the Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) to facilitate unhindered movement of foodstuff and other relevant goods. Other areas to check and arrest the situation include implementing a draft Regional Plan of Action on Animal Diseases Control to curb livestock disease outbreaks especially trans-boundary diseases such as the Rift Valley Fever that are closely related to climatic variability within the arid lands. In addition, the EAC is set to promote Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) as a proactive rather than reactive approach to disaster risk management.
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For more Information, contact: Bobi Odiko, Senior Public Relations Officer; East African Legislative Assembly; Tel: +255-27-2508240 Cell: +255 787 870945, +254-733-718036; Email: bodiko@eachq.org Web: https://www.eala.org Arusha, Tanzania
NOTE TO EDITORS
Association of European Parliamentarians with Africa (AWEPA)’s principle objective is to support and strengthen the effective functioning of parliaments in Africa as well as keeping Africa high on the political agenda in Europe and to facilitate African-European Parliamentary dialogue. In Africa, AWEPA works with development partners to implement national and regional capacity-building programmes for parliaments, their members and staff, in democratic development, poverty reduction and conflict management. AWEPA also promotes the attainment of gender equality at all levels of political decision-making.
