I would like to call to order today’s hearing focusing on one of the most critical issues in the world today – responding to the drought and famine in the Horn of Africa. As always, I am privileged to serve with my friend Senator Isakson and want thank him for staying in Washington after the Senate had adjourned in order to help convene today’s hearing. Senator Isakson is a true partner in highlighting a range of compelling issues, shared interests, and concerns in Africa, and I greatly appreciate his leadership on the subcommittee.
As everyone is well aware, Congress has been almost entirely focused on the debt crisis in recent weeks. While that issue was rightfully at the top of the agenda in the United States, we must also consider other global issues, especially when millions of lives are at risk and tens of thousands have already died. Today, we have displayed images of the crisis in the Horn of Africa in order to demonstrate the rising human toll of the drought and famine, including on children facing unspeakable depravation and hardship. In today’s hearing, we will list numbers that quantify the impact of the drought, but it is the images that convey the true impact on human lives. I want to thank UNICEF for its vital work on behalf of children worldwide and for providing the photographs displayed at today’s hearing. UNICEF has submitted a statement detailing its efforts in the Horn of Africa that I request be submitted for the record.
The crisis in the Horn of Africa has been caused by the worst drought in the region in more than 60 years, resulting in severe malnutrition, acute hunger, rising levels of starvation, and famine in Somalia. It is the most severe humanitarian crisis in a generation, affecting the food security of more than 12 million people across Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Djibouti, and surrounding areas, as illustrated by this map. According to UNICEF, an estimated 2.3 million children in the region are acutely malnourished, and half a million are at risk of imminent death. Unfortunately, the crisis is expected to worsen in coming months, eclipsing the famine in Ethiopia in the mid-80’s that elicited a global public outcry and response as demonstrated by events such as Live Aid.
The broad public awareness of the crisis in the 80’s appears to be absent today despite the worsening humanitarian situation and increasing need for aid. The situation is the most severe in Somalia, where rising food prices have exacerbated an already dire situation given ongoing conflict, poor governance, and obstructed humanitarian access by the terrorist group, al-Shabaab. Aid organizations and U.S. government officials estimate that more than 1,500 refugees per day are leaving Somalia for Kenya, flooding the world’s largest refugee compound in Dadaab, which is well over capacity with nearly half a million refugees. Hundreds of Somalis are fleeing each day for Dolo Ado and other camps in Ethiopia, also over capacity with more than 100,000 refugees. The international community and United States are working closely with the governments of Kenya, Ethiopia, and Djibouti to address the massive transnational influx of refugees, and I praise their efforts to accommodate these refugees, especially as they help their own populations cope with severe drought.
The countries impacted by the drought are among the world’s poorest, suffering from high rates of poverty and unemployment. While the failure of two consecutive rainy seasons contributed to the scale of the disaster, the humanitarian crisis and famine that resulted highlights broader capacity, governance, infrastructure, and security problems and needs. Of course, this drought was not a surprise. USAID, through its Famine Early Warning System, FEWSNET, predicted an impending crisis last year and worked with the Kenyan and Ethiopian governments to enhance their ability to respond and preposition emergency relief supplies. As the United States joins with partners in the international community to provide emergency assistance, we must also consider lessons learned in order to avert the next famine, improve food security globally, build sustainable capacity, and mitigate the impact of this crisis on future generations.
In response to the drought, the United States has been the largest international donor, providing $459 million in food aid, treatment for malnourished children, health care, and other assistance. But the responsibility cannot rest on our shoulders alone. Especially in a difficult budgetary environment, the humanitarian response to this crisis must be a shared international obligation. According to the United Nations, more than $2 billion will be needed to provide emergency assistance, and only $1 billion has been committed thus far. The international community must join the United States in providing this critical aid in the near term in order to save lives, especially those of malnourished children and others in desperate need.
As we consider the international response to this crisis, we must also examine restrictions on access given the volatile security environment in Somalia, where the United Nations recently declared a famine in southern areas controlled by al-Shabaab. Just yesterday, the U.S. government announced an easing of restrictions on humanitarian organizations operating in Somalia in order to facilitate the delivery of aid. I look forward to hearing from today’s witnesses about this new policy, which aims to provide additional guidance and legal assurances to U.S. partner organizations operating Southern Somalia.
To hear more about the scope, impact, and response to the crisis, we are privileged to be joined by two distinguished panels. First, we will hear from Nancy Lindborg, the Assistant Administrator for the Bureau of Democracy, Conflict, and Humanitarian Assistance for USAID and former President of Mercy Corps. Ms. Lindborg will be followed by Ambassador Donald Yamamoto, the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs and former Ambassador to Ethiopia and Djibouti. Finally, we will hear from Dr. Reuben E. Brigety, the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees, and Migration and former fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations who just returned from a visit to the region.
On the second panel, we will hear from Mr. Jeremy Konyndyk, Director of Policy and Advocacy for Mercy Corps who has led humanitarian and post-conflict recovery operations throughout the region. Next will be Dr. J. Peter Pham, Director of the Michael S. Ansari Africa Center at the Atlantic Council and former associate professor of Justice Studies, Political Science, and Africana studies at James Madison University. Finally, we will hear form Mr. Wouter Schaap, the Assistant Country Director for CARE International, Somalia who is based in Nairobi and recently returned from a visit to drought-affected areas of northern Somalia.
I am privileged to chair this hearing and to highlight the growing urgency of this increasingly grave humanitarian crisis. Americans have demonstrated great leadership helping those in need both domestically and abroad, and I am confident we can continue to partner with the international community to save lives and protect future generations in the Horn of Africa.
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