Nancy Lindborg is the head of the Bureau for Democracy, Conflict and Humanitarian Assistance at the U.S. Agency for International Development. Her office is overseeing the U.S. humanitarian response to the drought in the Horn of Africa. Poor rains last fall and this spring have left more than 12 million people in need across four countries on the continent’s eastern tusk: Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and Djibouti.
Conflict-ridden Somalia has been worst affected. The United Nations has declared famine in five regions in central and southern Somalia, much of which is controlled by al-Shabab, an Islamist insurgent group that has at times banned Western aid groups and killed their staff members. More than half a million Somalis have fled to refugee camps in neighboring countries, where cholera and measles stalk amid the cramped living conditions.
The United States has provided $581.6 million in emergency aid this year, making it the biggest single donor to the relief effort. However, U.N. officials have warned of a funding shortfall. The famine is predicted to spread beyond its epicenter in Somalia in the coming months.
Lindborg spoke to The Washington Post from Nairobi. She had just touched down in Kenya’s capital and was due to visit emergency feeding centers and clean-water projects across the country in the coming days.
Can you tell us what you’re seeing on the ground as to how this crisis is affecting 12 million Africans?
We have a three-part emergency in the Horn right now. You have drought-affected communities in Ethiopia, Kenya and northern Somalia. Then you have the famine in southern Somalia, where everything we’re hearing is very grave, with malnutrition rates of around 45 percent for children under 5. Then you have the refugee crisis, with around 2,000 to 3000 Somalians crossing every day into Ethiopia and Kenya.
It’s easy for the numbers to dissolve into abstract concepts. But it’s essential that, when we talk about 12 million people being affected, we understand that behind each one of those individuals is a story. When I was in Dadaab [a refugee camp in Kenya] in May, I met a woman who had brought her family of five on a three- to four-week trek to reach the camp, just to get food and assistance.
How is USAID spending its $581 million to combat the most urgent problem — southern Somalia’s famine?
In Somalia, we’re focused on three things, and we’ve spent over $92 million there. We’re providing immediate food assistance, with an emphasis on therapeutic foods [easily digestible food such as peanut paste or high-energy biscuits]. We’re also focused on health and sanitation, as we’re seeing the emergence of cholera and measles. Access to clean water — the ability to reduce mortality with that simple act is mind-boggling. Thirdly, we’re helping families to purchase food. In many parts of Somalia, there is actually some food in the marketplace. We have an $8 million food voucher program where we distribute vouchers that allow families to go to market and buy the food they need.
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