Where Britain leads, the world must follow
Right now, the world’s wealthy nations face the ultimate test. In South Sudan, Somalia, Yemen and north-east Nigeria people are dying of hunger.
If we take collective, coordinated action, we can prevent millions of people from starving to death. If we do not, international inaction will stain our history and collective conscience.
The pictures of shrunken, emaciated children that are emerging are truly horrific. Their suffering is so shocking you’d be forgiven for turning away from these haunting images.
They desperately need our help. The babies whose bodies are giving up because they are so starved, the parents who spend every moment in a battle to get their children something to eat. Every death from hunger is preventable. And every one of these lives is worth saving.
Conflict lies at the root of most of these crises and we need all parties to the conflicts to put an end to violence, allow humanitarian access and deliver long-lasting peace. But as we speak these people need food and water.
Britain has acted without hesitation. UK-aid-funded food and water is being distributed across Somalia, South Sudan, Yemen and north-east Nigeria, along with emergency health services. And we have matched, pound for pound, the first £5 million donated by the public to the Disasters Emergency Committee’s new East Africa appeal.
This help from the British people is making the difference between life and death. Global Britain is showing the leadership required in tackling these crises. But we need the entire international community to respond. The swift action we have taken to save lives must be matched by others.
The enormity of the challenge cannot be overstated. Before last month there had been only one certified famine globally in the past 20 years. The UN has just declared that parts of South Sudan are now in famine, while Yemen, north-east Nigeria and Somalia are staring disaster in the face.
The UN estimates that more than 20 million people across these four countries face starvation and famine. And at least 1.4 million children could starve to death this year.
Our humanitarian leadership helps Britain stand tall in the world. I have seen for myself how, in times of crisis, the world looks to us, not just for our support on the ground but also for our leadership internationally.
This leadership means the UK is not only meeting people’s basic humanitarian needs but also dealing with the root causes of the problems we are seeing. This is where our aid budget – along with our world-class defence and diplomacy – acts not only in the interests of the world’s poorest, but in our own national interest.
When we invest in stability, jobs and livelihoods, and sound governance, we are dealing with the causes of problems that affect us here in the UK. It would not be in Britain’s national interest to simply sit on our hands and wait until these problems reach breaking point or find their way to our doorstep.
So, as Britain strives to save lives, I am calling upon other nations to step up, help reform the system, and urgently play their part to rapidly mobilise extra resources. 2017 is the year that will see the Department for International Development continue to show leadership in times of global crisis and human suffering. So my message to the rest of the international community is clear: act now to stop people starving to death.
This year could be the ultimate test of our international system and a test of our shared humanity; the world cannot afford to wait.
‘If we take collective, coordinated action, we can prevent millions of people from starving to death’