Famine Threatens Millions Across Africa and the Middle East - Doctors of the World

Famine Threatens Millions Across Africa and the Middle East

We are on the precipice of another humanitarian crisis.

The hunger crisis that is raging in Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan, and Yemen is threatening the lives of millions of people. The crisis is urgent, complex and vast. Without swift action, alarming food shortages in Ethiopia, Chad, Kenya, Uganda, and Niger, could also spiral into crisis.

Crop failures brought on by climate change, combined with conflicts that have forced entire villages from their land, have caused the onset of famine in four countries across Africa and the Middle East. An estimated 20 million people – including 1.4 million children – are already suffering from malnutrition, and if the global community fails to act, the ongoing food shortages and widespread poverty in these countries will cause unthinkable suffering and unnecessary deaths.

As a member organization of Consortium 12-12, a Belgian non-profit platform, Doctors of the World is working to distribute food and water, provide medical care, improve hygiene and strengthen the agricultural capabilities of these communities in three of the famine-affected countries: Nigeria, Somalia and Yemen.

Nigeria

 

Since 2014, the north eastern state of Borno in Nigeria has been struggling to contain the extremist group known as Boko Haram. Over 20,000 people have died as a result of the insurgency and 2.6 million have been displaced. The medical needs in Nigeria are immense: 30% of medical facilities have been destroyed in the conflict, severely debilitating the health infrastructure in the area.

DotW’s General Director of International Operations, Jean-Francois Corty reported that “Boko Haram have continuously attacked medical facilities, targeting and killing medical personnel. There is a constant shortage of drugs and equipment. 90% of the current health infrastructure does not know how to treat cases of malnutrition in children. This is a humanitarian crisis that is quickly becoming forgotten.”

Since 2016, we have operated two mobile clinics in Borno state. We provide primary medical care to displaced communities and malnutrition treatment to children and pregnant women. After observing the situation, Jean-Francois added, “The population needs clean water, food and shelter. The situation is alarming and access to food is at serious risk, because people can no longer fish or breed cattle”. Doctors of the World has sent 10 tons of equipment to the area, but far more aid is needed.

In response to the hunger crisis we have launched multiple mobile units known as Outreach Therapeutic Programs, where we detect and treat malnourished children under the age of 5. In 2 weeks, we screened 582 children at these units and found that over 50 were suffering from malnutrition. We are currently providing access to primary care in 4 IDP camps and supporting 2 healthcare centers in Maiduguri.

Somalia

 

Somalia has been plagued by civil war for over 20 years, and 6.2 million people current live without food security. Doctors of the World has been working in the town of Bosaso in Northern Somalia in Puntland since 2011. There are currently 60,000 displaced people in Bosaso, including 3,000 in the rural areas surrounding the town. Puntland is currently experiencing drought conditions that are expected to affect over 150,000 people.

As drought conditions worsen, there has been a sharp increase in cases of malnutrition, AWD (Acute Watery Diarrhea), and cholera amongst these communities. It is estimated that 363,000 children are currently malnourished in Somalia.

In response to the crisis, we are doubling our capacity in Puntland, and have added two new mobile units to screen for malnutrition. According to Beatriz Valbuena, our General Coordinator in Somalia, “The last remaining organization in this region had to call back its two mobile teams due to budgetary reasons. As a result, there were only three mobile teams left in the whole Bosaso region. The women, children and men in these areas have no way to get to places where they can be treated, and we are transporting the severely undernourished people by ambulance to our health centers, all free of charge.”

Yemen

 

The war in Yemen has claimed over 10,000 lives and left 3 million displaced since 2014. As a result, Yemen is currently facing the largest food emergency in the world and 65% of Yemenis currently do not have reliable access to food. The price of food spiked severely in September 2016, as the conflict in the country escalated. Around 7 million people in Yemen depend entirely on food assistance, with the rate of child malnutrition being one of the highest in the world.

Doctors of the World began working in Yemen in 2015, focusing mainly on food security and child health. We now support 8 health centers and one maternity clinic in the governorates of Sana’a and Ibb. We also operate an emergency team, which provides assistance and emergency supplies to conflict areas.