China boosts efforts to feed millions

In the recent past, China has donated a total of $10 million to feed around 3 million women and children facing starvation in the Horn of Africa.

Distribution of the aid, in Ethiopia and Somalia, is coordinated by the World Food Program, a United Nations food agency.

"China's assistance has come at the right time," says John Aylieff, WFP representative and country director in Ethiopia.

The program supports around 400,000 children under 5 whose lives are threatened by acute malnutrition. The rest includes pregnant women, nursing mothers and people living with HIV / AIDS.

According to the UN, 300,000 children under five are acutely malnourished in Somalia, which includes more than 50,000 children severely malnourished and more vulnerable than any other group.

Ethiopia and Somalia have received $8 million and $2 million in donations respectively. This is after the area suffered a disastrous drought, triggering a prolonged famine which has had a negative impact on the region's food reserves. Ethiopia's current drought is the worst the country has seen in 50 years.

According to the WFP's 2016 Humanitarian Requirements Document, 10.2 million people in Ethiopia need emergency food assistance, while five million Somalis - 40 percent of the population - do not have sufficient food.

In what is seen as China's increasing global role as a major development and humanitarian player, Aylieff notes that the second-largest global economy has strongly supported the Ethiopian government. This is the first time it has backed a WFP program in the country.

"We have seen a sudden surge in people in need of emergency food as the drought continues to bite. The government needs all the support it can get and I think China's move has complemented our joint efforts," he says.

The WFP offers special nutritional supplements, especially for children, whose numbers have gone up in the past six months.

"The cases of acute malnutrition have risen as food reserves run low. We are trying to prevent the numbers from sliding into crisis. That is why China's donation is significant at this time," says the country director.

The Ethiopian government is spearheading the distribution system. The operation, also involving UNICEF, has seen life-saving supplements reach around 2.3 million Ethiopians through 2,500 health centers scattered around the vast country.

"The government's efforts are remarkable. Its long relationship with China has also seen infrastructure extended to remote areas, making it easier to reach the population," says Aylieff, adding that the new Ethiopia-Djibouti Railway is a boost to this program. "Indeed, it is a critical link. Transportation is now faster and cheaper."

The Chinese donation will sustain the program until the end of the year. The WFP in Ethiopia estimates that the general food program will, however, need an injection of $130 million to provide food for the masses until the beginning of the next harvest season, at the end of November.

In Somalia, China is once again supporting the country's fight against hunger. The last time the country made this type of contribution was in 2011, when it gave $16 million to support the WFP during the Somalia famine of 2011-12.

Having China back is a significant shift for the WFP, at a time when Somalia's needs keep growing, says Mireille Ferrari, strategic communications specialist at the WFP's Somalia office, based in Kenya.

According to the UN, the latest numbers represent an increase of 300,000 people who are food insecure since the last review in February.

"Humanitarian partners are ready to scale up their response to help families struggling to find food to make it through the day," said Peter de Clercq, the humanitarian coordinator for Somalia. "The Somalia Humanitarian Response Plan for 2016 is 32 percent funded. Additional resources are urgently required to boost efforts to address malnutrition and access to food."

lucymorangi@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily Africa Weekly 11/11/2016 page3)