Empower Africa’s humanitarians

The scale of human suffering engulfing drought-stricken Somalia is almost indescribable. It is difficult to find words to convey the devastation and misery gripping the country, now in the midst of a prolonged period of record-low rainfall. I have watched emaciated herds of livestock drop, lifeless, into the dust, and been present when people’s futures evaporated in front of their eyes.

But if words cannot do justice to the magnitude of the crisis, they can guide the world’s response. And in that regard, let me be unequivocal: unless the international community overhauls its approach to delivering aid in Africa, the cycle of suffering will continue.

Somalia’s catastrophe is not unique. Millions of Africans, in more than a dozen countries, are facing similar struggles, as failed harvests and persistent conflict fuel severe food insecurity. By some estimates, East African farmers have lost up to 60 per cent of their livestock – their main source of income – in the first half of 2017. In the face of such overwhelming hardship, I am more angry than sad.

The world should be angry, too. So many proud and dignified people have been stripped of their livelihoods and forced to rely on one tiny meal a day, or nothing at all. Worse, these tragedies were avoidable; we knew these crises were coming.

Drought and hunger are slowmotion calamities that, with adequate planning and sufficient resources, can be averted. But time and time again, humanitarian assistance in Africa has come up short, as it did in Somalia in 2011 and 2012, in Niger in 2005 and in Ethiopia during the 1980s. Then, as now, food insecurity was predicted long before the first hunger pangs were felt. But the warnings did not yield an effective global response.

As a medical doctor, I am acutely aware of how hunger, malnutrition, cholera, and other drought-related illnesses affect Africans, especially young children and nursing and expectant mothers. The effects of hunger on physical and mental health can be irreversible, and often keep people locked in a lifetime of poverty. We must alter this trajectory, before the next crisis strikes, by converting anger into action.

For starters, the aid community must be smarter about how it solicits and allocates resources like food and funding.

More emphasis needs to be placed on building lasting solutions, and that means working more closely with local partners on the ground. This is not a new idea, but it is a solution that has not yet stuck.

Local actors are best positioned to reach the most vulnerable and marginalised members of any community. Strong local actors are critical to sustaining services long after multinational aid agencies have turned their attention elsewhere. What local constituents need is the resources and capacity to take the lead.

Unfortunately, at the moment, only a fraction of international emergency funding goes directly to local agencies. Worse, there is little dedicated support available for helping local organisations grow and mature. Because of these shortcomings, multinational organisations often find it difficult to hand over responsibilities once the most urgent needs have been met.

When local responders are supported in leadership roles, the results are exceptional. In Somalia, for example, the Somali Red Crescent Society has established dozens of mobile health clinics capable of serving some of the country’s most vulnerable populations.

Best of all, when emergencies abate, local capacity remains.

Changing the global humanitarian paradigm will not be easy; change on this scale never is. But the alternative – an endless cycle of hunger, disease, and needless death – is unacceptable. Africa’s suffering has left many speechless. That is why our actions must speak louder than our words.

Fatoumata Nafo-traore is regional director for Africa for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent societies.