POLITICS

Aid agencies back UN’s $7 billion appeal for Horn of Africa crisis

May 23, 2023, 2:20 AM

FILE - Villagers gather during a visit by United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian A...

FILE - Villagers gather during a visit by United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths, in the village of Lomoputh in northern Kenya on May 12, 2022. Humanitarian agencies are calling for the full funding of the U.N. Horn of Africa $7 billion appeal during a pledging conference scheduled for Wednesday, May 24, 2023, citing a growing crisis and need for urgent lifesaving intervention. (AP Photo/Brian Inganga, File)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS

(AP Photo/Brian Inganga, File)

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Humanitarian agencies are calling for full funding of the U.N.’s $7 billion appeal for the Horn of Africa during a pledging conference this week, citing a growing crisis and the need for urgent lifesaving intervention.

The U.N. says the region is facing the worst drought in 40 years, with more than 43.3 million people in need of assistance in Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya, and more than half of those lacking access to sufficient food, according to the U.N.

The International Rescue Committee said that until now the appeals have received less than a quarter of the donations they need.

“Efforts to combat food insecurity need to be urgently scaled up across a wider group of governments, international financial institutions and climate actors,” said the IRC’s chief executive, David Miliband.

The U.N on Wednesday is convening a high-level pledging event at its headquarters in New York, where member states and partners will be encouraged to commit financial support to the Horn of Africa crisis.

Humanitarian organizations say time is running out as affected communities have gone for months with little or no food.

“It’s beyond urgent. … We have averted famine before, and we can do it again. … People are already dying and there’s no time for declarations,” Deepmala Mahla, CARE International’s vice president for humanitarian affairs. told The Associated Press.

A famine is yet to be declared in Somalia, where more than 6 million people are going hungry, but some humanitarian and climate officials have warned that trends are worse than in the 2011 famine in Somalia in which a quarter-million people died.

Formal famine declarations are rare because data to meet the benchmarks often cannot be obtained because of conflict, poor infrastructure or politics. Governments can be wary of being associated with a term of such grim magnitude.

Local nongovernmental organizations like Somalia’s Hormuud Salaam Foundation say there’s need for sustained funding.

“For lasting change, we must equip local organizations and local people with the tools to face the inevitable climate shocks of tomorrow,” the foundation’s CEO, Abdullahi Nur Osman, told the AP.

Persistent conflict in some of the affected areas, combined with climate change effects, have contributed to the growing crisis.

Parts of Somalia and Ethiopia are currently experiencing flooding during the ongoing rainy season and millions of people have been displaced.

The affected areas, mostly occupied by herders, had seen prolonged dry seasons that left livestock, which are a source of livelihoods, dead.

Parts of Somalia are grappling with insecurity due to the al-Shabab extremist group that has carried out numerous large-scale attacks.

Northern Ethiopia experienced conflict for more than two years as regional forces clashed with national forces. Hundreds of thousands of people died and the situation remains fragile, seven months after a peace deal was signed.

Politics

Associated Press

Oklahoma judge rules death row inmate not competent to be executed

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — An Oklahoma judge ruled Thursday that a death row inmate is not competent to be executed for his role in the 1999 slayings of a mother and son. Pittsburg County Judge Michael Hogan issued an order in the case involving 61-year-old James Ryder in that county. “The court could go on […]

2 hours ago

Associated Press

Law enforcement executed search warrants at Atlantic City mayor’s home, attorney says

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — A lawyer for Atlantic City Mayor Marty Small said law enforcement officers visited the mayor’s home Thursday morning to execute search warrants, but would not reveal further information, including whether anyone was taken into custody. Edwin Jacobs confirmed that officers went to Small’s home with search warrants, but would not […]

2 hours ago

Associated Press

Michigan GOP lawmaker claims that buses carrying March Madness teams are ‘illegal invaders’

FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. (AP) — A right-wing Michigan state lawmaker who has been tied to former President Donald Trump and his election denials is being widely criticized after making claims that buses carrying college athletes to Detroit for March Madness were immigrant “invaders” being shuttled into the city illegally. Michigan state House Rep. Matt Maddock […]

5 hours ago

Associated Press

Truck driver convicted of vehicular homicide for 2022 crash that killed 5 in Colorado

DENVER (AP) — A Denver truck driver has been convicted of five counts of vehicular homicide for crashing a semi tractor-trailer into a sport utility vehicle carrying a Wyoming family in June 2022, killing all five of them. A Weld County jury also convicted Jesus Puebla of five other counts on Wednesday, including reckless driving […]

6 hours ago

Associated Press

Russian veto brings end to UN panel monitoring enforcement of North Korea nuclear sanctions

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — Russia vetoed a U.N. resolution Thursday in a move that effectively abolishes the monitoring by United Nations experts of U.N. sanctions against North Korea aimed at reining in its nuclear program, though the sanctions themselves remain in place. Russia’s vote sparked Western accusations that Moscow was acting to shield its weapons […]

9 hours ago

Associated Press

U.S. congressional delegation pledges continued defense support for Taiwan

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — A bipartisan U.S. congressional delegation pledged continued support for Taiwan on Thursday, days after Congress approved $300 million in military aid for the self-governed island that’s claimed by China. Congress also approved $400 million on Saturday to counter the Chinese government’s influence in the region, as part of its Defense Appropriations […]

17 hours ago

Aid agencies back UN’s $7 billion appeal for Horn of Africa crisis