Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia: acting quickly to prevent humanitarian emergencies

July 27, 2018 • East Africa, Health

New evidence shows that early interventions have reduced the impacts of the 2017 drought in Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia. Photo: Crisis Group

According to a new report released today by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), intervene early in countries likely to Being affected by natural disasters can prevent or mitigate the effects of humanitarian emergencies.

For every dollar spent by FAO in Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia in early 2017, as pastoralists prepared for a new drought, each family saw its benefits rise to $ 9 because of the decreased hunger and disease. up to three times more milk.

Farmers were also able to better protect their future because losing their animals would be like losing their savings; it would be necessary to feed a dangerous spiral of poverty and to resort to much more expensive emergency help.

Investing in early interventions is essential as natural disasters rise

In the Horn of Africa, time has become increasingly unpredictable. One drought follows another, depriving poor communities of their limited possessions and making them increasingly vulnerable. On a global scale, natural disasters strike almost five times more often than four decades ago.

"Investing in early interventions is not only human and intelligent, but also cost-effective. Protecting livelihoods before the disaster means better resilience to future shocks and less pressure on humanitarian resources, "said Dominique Burgeon, Director of FAO's Emergency and Rehabilitation Division, Strategic Program on Resilience [19659010] is also the responsible thing to do There is more and more evidence that the sooner we respond, the greater the ability of communities to cope, "he adds. [19659005] Advantages of acting early

mobilized to help the thousands of herders most at risk

FAO's first interventions focused on: distribution of highly nutritious emergency foods for major breeding animals; provide veterinary services to keep animals alive and healthy; rehabilitate water points and install water tanks; Water and provide training on best practices in livestock farming and management of livestock markets to government agents.

As a result, in Kenya, on average, two more animals were saved per pastoral family compared to those who did not receive badistance; every child under five drank about half a liter more milk a day, which is a quarter of the daily calories and 65% of the daily protein requirements of a five-year-old

. drought, FAO-badisted herds not only survived but were strong and produced three times the usual amount of milk. Families who received help reported that their animals were healthier and healthier.

For every $ 1 spent by FAO on livestock interventions for each family, the family received a return of $ 3.5. When the cost of avoided food aid and restocking was added, the rate of return on investment rose to $ 9 per family.

On the other hand, Kenyan ranchers who did not benefit from early help were forced to sell twice as many animals. prices dropped from $ 80 to $ 30. They also killed nearly three times the number of their animals, both to eat and to ease the burden of feeding them.

In Somalia, it costs about $ 0.4 to provide veterinary treatment to a goat and $ 40 to buy a new one. By treating more than one million animals belonging to nearly 180,000 people in the most affected areas of Somaliland and Puntland, FAO interventions have helped pastoralists save more than $ 40 million . launch a large-scale and effective famine prevention program. In Ethiopia, for every $ 1 invested by FAO in protecting more than 100,000 animals from some 60,000 people in the most affected areas of the Somali region, each family of livestock farmers earned $ 7 in profits. 19659005] FAO has badisted Horn Horn breeders in Africa to protect their main livestock herds, which has allowed them to keep their children healthy and to go to school. School – An Important Investment for Their Future

Edited by Neo Sesinye [19659023] Neo Sesinye on Twitter
Subscribe IT News Africa on Twitter