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Drought and famine in Africa

Africa like any other continent has its own share of problems; some problems are global while others are specifically tied to Africa. Drought and famine is one such problem that has been part of Africa from time in memorial, the effects of drought is always severe and affects millions of people. The drought situation especially in the horn of Africa and the northern arid areas of Kenya has been a major concern for a long time, as result humanitarian help is always required in the area or the people face starvation.

An article by Michael Krebs titled “Worst drought in 60 years in East Africa could impact 10 million” looks at the situation on drought in, Ethiopia, Somalia and the northern parts of Kenya. The writer analyses the current situation of the drought, causes of the drought, financial constraints facing the World Food Program in its quest to help the millions of people, and what needs to be done to avert a crisis that might cause death of millions of the people in the area (http://digitaljournal.com/article/308965).

Situation

The people living in the area are nomads who move from one place to another in search of food and pasture for their livestock; the situation is however grim as the drought has lead to deaths of thousands of livestock which is the source of their livelihood. In areas where a bit of farming is done crops have also failed. The drought has also forced thousands of people to move into the refugee camps, thus causing a crisis, the camp was built to accommodate about 90,000 now holds about 380,000 making it one of the biggest refugee camps in the world (http://digitaljournal.com/article/308965).

The situation is made worse by the increase of food prices and the persistent lack of rain, according to Dr Unni Krishnan the disaster coordinator for children’s development organization Plan International, “All the predictions show seasonal rains are far away and the situation will deteriorate — we have not even reached the peak of the crisis.” The comments can be interpreted to mean that the situation might become worse. The world Food Program is also facing a deficit of about 40% in terms of funding. In order to avert the crisis that may face the millions of people the World Food Program will have to be allocated about US$190 that is needed in order to address the issue of drought facing the three countries (http://digitaljournal.com/article/308965).

Things learnt from the article

The World Food Program has immense responsibility of making sure that not even a single person dies as a result of lack of food or water. Another thing learned is that Kenya has the biggest refugee camp in the whole world. The other thing learned is that rain plays very crucial part in the lives of many people in Africa and that the lack of it can have adverse effects on the people (http://digitaljournal.com/article/308965).

Weakness and strengths of the article

The article does not elaborately explain the situation on the ground as it is, the article does not state how the situation is being handled even if there are some constraints the strength of the article is that it is well researched, the writer has very reliable sources that are not biased such as the World Food Program, and CNN.

Conclusion

All continents have their own problems, but there are some that affect mainly the continent of Africa. Drought has for a very long time affected millions of People, the WFP has played an exemplary role in ensuring that the affected people are given all the necessary help. However the World Food Program has to be given the entire necessary fund so as to be able to carry out their activities. A permanent should be put in place should be put in place so that the people living in the areas do not rely on humanitarian help all their lives.

Work Cited

“Worst drought in 60 years in East Africa could impact 10 million.” Worst drought in 60 years in East Africa could impact 10 million. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. <http://digitaljournal.com/article/308965>