Nairobi, 18 June, 2022 / 6:30 pm (ACI Africa).
Irish development and humanitarian organizations, including the overseas development agency of the Catholic Bishops of Ireland, Trócaire, are sounding the alarm about famine threat in the Horn of Africa, which they attribute to “years of inaction”.
In a Tuesday, June 14 report, representatives from Trócaire, Concern Worldwide, GOAL, and Oxfam Ireland explain to Irish politicians the situation in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia, urging “greater political action on severe hunger” in these African nations.
Explaining the reality in the horn of Africa, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Dóchas, a body representing the Irish development and humanitarian organizations, says, “The threat of famine in the 21st century is, above all, a political failure. We are now facing the consequences of years of inaction.”
Jane-Ann McKenna explains, “The failure to address the deadly combination of climate change, conflict and the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic has left the region in extreme crisis.”
In the report, Ms. McKenna says that the situation Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia representing the Horn of Africa has been worsened by the conflict in Ukraine, which disrupted the global economy and food systems.