The Canadian Foodgrains Bank is joining 11 other Canadian aid agencies in June to help combat the escalating hunger crisis in East Africa.
The organization says the crisis is “worse than anything seen in recent years.”
“The Canadian government has announced it will match all donations made by individual Canadians to the Humanitarian Coalition until June 20, up to $5 million,” the Foodgrains Bank said in a news release.
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A flare up of conflict in Sudan, Somalia and the Democratic Republic of Congo has exacerbated severe hunger caused by erratic weather and economic disruptions in the Horn of Africa.
“In Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan and Kenya, the persistent drought conditions first seen in 2020 have continued into 2023 with more than 23 million people facing severe shortages of food and water,” stated the Foodgrains Bank.
The GeoGlam Crop Monitor paints a slightly different picture. It says conditions in Ethiopia have been mostly favourable despite heavy rains and flooding in some areas.
Planting and crop development continues under mixed conditions in the southern portion of East Africa where there has been some enhanced rainfall.
However, the Crop Monitor says there are dryness concerns in central Uganda, central-eastern Kenya, northwest and central Somalia and north and central parts of Tanzania.
“Below-normal rainfall is forecast in western equatorial areas and south-central Ethiopia for the June to August period,” it stated in a report issued on June 1.
Stefan Epp-Koop, humanitarian program manager for the Foodgrains Bank, visited Somalia in May.
“People’s lives and livelihoods have been completely destroyed,” he said in the press release. “Life-saving assistance is urgently needed in the region.”
Andy Harrington, executive director of the Foodgrains Bank, said many Canadians have been affected by the wildfires, but there are social supports to assist them.
“It’s a sobering reminder of the impact of climate change on livelihoods and safety — something our global neighbours living in places like Kenya and Somalia have experienced for years without those same social supports,” he said.
About 828 million people around the world are experiencing hunger.
“There is an entire generation of people growing up and all they know is prolonged drought, failed harvests and hunger,” said Harrington. “We must do all we can to change that as fast as possible.”
Contact sean.pratt@producer.com
