2011 The Hunger Crisis at the Horn of Africa – Natural Disaster or Complex Emergency?

East Africa’s hunger crisis has been described as one of the worst humanitarian crises in decades, amid stepped-up efforts by the international community to provide relief aid and emergency assistance. In the face of severe protracted drought for more than 30 months a total of 12 million people all over the horn of Africa are struggling to survive and to secure their livelihoods. In southern parts of Somalia the situation has deteriorated to the extent of a famine threatening the lives of millions of people forced to seek refuge in camps in neighboring Kenya and Ethiopia. This humanitarian crisis however is not only the result of adverse weather and climate conditions. Other factors have contributed as well and need to be taken into consideration when planning appropriate humanitarian (food security) interventions and emergency response. This includes factors such as political reluctance to cope with this crisis and poor governance, market failures and soaring food prices, environmental degradation as well as armed conflicts and unremitting political strife.

Keynote Speech
Alistair Dutton, Caritas Internationalis

Moderator

Sabine Kampmüller, Médecins Sans Frontières

Panel Members
Rainer Lang, Diakonie
Margit Maximilian, Journalist
Ton van Zutphen, World Vision