Hunger and Food Aid in Somalia


Food Aid is one of the most important resources people in the poor countries have and also it is a way to combat the famine around the world, it is one of the most relevant solutions the development countries offer to solve the hunger problem. Besides, all of us now that with the new technology in our days they can easy solve the famine problem, but the reality is other because the governments in the development countries such as the United States is telling people that they are the largest provider of food aid around the world and it is true because they give through many organizations food aid to many countries since 50 years (specially Africa), that is what the USFoodAid and Security website says about the food aid in the United States.
In addition, the World Food Program belongs to the United States’ food aid programs and it is one of the most recognized organizations in this area, but let’s takes a look around the things they say about this issue because they divided food aid in three stages which are Emergency Food Aid (60%), Programme Food Aid (20%), and Project Aid (20%); however, these kind of division in a few cases is respected and the rich government like US government does not care about it.


Furthermore, if you see that the United States are telling people these kinds of things it is because they need to have a good image on people and they need to have the power in all the markets. However, if you see the map above in the yellow part that is called “horn of Africa”, there you can see many African countries and also there is located “Somalia” one of the poorest countries around the world and it is just an example of the situation there.
It is for this reason and all the things the government says that is necessary to analyze the different factors that create these kinds of problems and also to show the reality and not just to read or to hear what politicians say about the issue and it is very important that people around the globe started to think more and not just believe all the things the powerful nations try to impose us and to be a person who thinks by himself.



Situation:



The situation in Somalia is that it is a poor country that needs a lot of things and also in this country there is not a sold government in which people can believe and thrust, so the most common problems happen when the World Food Programme send food aid to Somalia and the most significant cause of this problem is what The Economist website said “an internal UN (United Nations) report accuses the WFP (World Food Programme) of abjectly failing to get food to starving Somalis. The report says that systematic collusion between local WFP staffers, Islamist militants and food transporters has led to the diversion of up to half of the food it ships to Somalia, with some of it going to jihadists.” It is an example of how this food aid is not for poor people and also that most of the food that is destined to the hunger in Somalia is just for people that most of the time are involved in corrupt governments or pay to this programmes to have some benefits in the food sector.


Corruption:


The corruption is another problem this poor country is suffering and also it is because the money that supposedly is destined to food aid is destined to buy weapons and also the United States is one of the most common countries that approach the situation this country lives today to make business, money and sell weapons to the rebels in that country and to give an example here there is a fact; according to The Economist (2010) “ the whole business of food aid to Africa has come under additional scrutiny recently after a BBC report alleged that up to 95% of the cash provided to buy food for rebel-controlled areas during Ethiopia’s horrendous famine in 1984-85 was in fact used to buy weapons.” So there is nothing else to say here, the money that was in a beginning to buy food was to buy weapons and make bigger the rebel’s problem in African countries. Besides, the whole trade with African countries such as Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia is just to manipulate the governments and to sell the products in their markets, but with a mask of good people as the United States that says to the people in the world they are one of the most countries that help more countries giving them food aid, but they are not telling people the reality which is that they are selling weapons and making money with the famine and hunger in these countries, and exploiting the natural resources they have and they are giving food aid as dumping.
As has been said there are a lot of problems in these countries and the powerful nations are making bigger and worse the situation in the population that have a lot of health problems, hunger, famine and even these problems are not enough because they have to resist more danger provoked from these nations that see a poor country that have some good natural resources like diamonds and created an atmosphere of corruption leaving the country with more poverty and disasters, instead of helping them they are destroying them. It is very sad to see a powerful country that calls themselves a development nations that depends of hungry in the poor countries to make business with a mask of good nations that all the time have to be involved in the conflicts just to make money, but that is the horrible reality we are living in a world in which a piece of paper is more value than a human life.




Food Security:


Food security is another aspect people in these countries cannot have because they do not have the necessary resources and the land conditions to develop the agriculture, but this is provoked by many different actions such as the food aid create a dependence on people and also it is one of the most common causes of many problems in Somalia because if you have the poor help the big companies or countries like World Food Programme and the United States respectively give you, when this happens you do not have other option to plant your own food or even to support your local markets and try to improve the agricultural sector in these countries. Moreover, the people in Somalia prefer to have money and invest in the local markets and not to depend so much in the powerful nations, but here there is a problem because the United States and the organizations do not want to leave these poor countries because is in this country where they can sell weapons, exploit natural resources and leave the land with serious damages, when it happens the farmers cannot do anything to work the land.
Homer-Dixon & Blitt, (1998). “Acute absolute food shortages are still primarily caused by climate and weather patterns in combination with the unsustainable use of the environment and natural resources.” It is a fact mentioned here in these quote and it is very important to analyzed it because in Somalia the land is undeveloped and do not have the same conditions to grown food and to give the Somali population the food security they need.
It is just an example of what can be the consequences when countries do not have food security, and also the most important factor to analyze is that if you do not have land to plant your crops you won’t have animals too because they need the natural resources to live, but as you can see the cows and other animals die as a consequence of droughts. However, if you see in the USFoodAid and Security website says that “The Food Aid Convention, 1999, is an agreement among donor countries to contribute to world food security and to improve international response to emergency and other food needs of developing countries. It describes the acceptable methods for providing food aid and includes minimum annual commitments for each participating country and the European Community. The United States has the largest minimum commitment of 2,500,000 metric tons.” with this kind of facts we can imagine that the problems in Somalia about food security are becoming less frequents in the region, but how a website can publish this facts and tell the people that they are helping the world when the reality is another and also how a website can contribute to support a state that is taking advantage of the poorest people in the globe, it is unbelievable how people lie and try to convince the rest of the world to control them and not to think about the issues we are living today.
Furthermore, if the United States is the one who has given more contributions they are very responsible about the develop of food security in these countries, but where is the change in that sector, where is the food security in countries like Somalia, there is only a red of corruption and death in the countries which give benefits to the most powerful nations without receiving nothing, but never they will accept the lies they said and the things they actually did or are doing with poor people.



Violent Conflicts:


Steve Bloomfield (2007) “More than 33,500 tonnes of food aid has been delivered to Somalia by the UN's World Food Programme (WFP) since the start of the year. But in Marere district in the lower Juba valley, farmers and elders said the food distribution had brought chaos and driven down the price of maize by 60 per cent.” It is an interesting fact that is making a lot of problems related with the food aid as dumping and it is the most harmful consequence in the Somali population; however, the greatest nations in the world still say that all its good and they are doing the right actions to solve the famine problems in the African countries. In addition, the world can see the violence that is affecting Somalis because people day by day die in the area where food aid is distributed.
As Steve Bloomfield said, the Somalia’s government has provided their own soldier to protect the food and also to keep the adequate distribution of it, but in a country where the rule of the gun is more polite than the law it is a big problem when poor people come to the distribution areas and they have to fight to have some of the food aid they need, unfortunately in Galkayo, 300 miles north-west of Mogadishu, nine people have been killed during food distributions, it is sad because many of these people go to the place to have some food and what they received is only violence and death.
On the other hand, with the violence in the place comes the other side of the food that is the inadequate recipients the food is distributed and also the other problem is that many people have to throw away the food aid because it is in bad conditions and even the animal cannot eat, but the World Food Programme (WFP) does not do anything about it and also try to avoid the distribution of food aid in this country, as you can see the big food aid programmes are not the best as they say and also the violence is more common in the places where the food has to be delivered and they are not the most qualifies to resolve the problems. Besides, maybe many of us think how a company that is involve in these terrible acts of violence can even give food aid to poor people in Africa, but all has a explanation that is simple they are receiving a lot of benefits and a lot of money by the United States’ government to do that activity, that is why is so important to this company make business with the government and give food that is not the best in quality and quantity to solve the famine problem in Africa.


The world food problems always will exist if the people and the governments do not do anything about it and it is sad to see the injustices poor people suffer from companies and countries that do not care about them because they only care about money and business, it is a example of how our politicians are making business at the expense of human lives, but it can change if we really want to try and to give more opportunities to those in need and not just think about ourselves, if you are one of those you will be a human being that cares about people. As has been said, the world is suffering a lot of difficulties and this report was made to have an opinion about the situation these people in Africa is living day by day and also to try to give you another perspective in name of real justice, if you are a person who thinks by yourself you will analyze and think two times before believe the things the government say and be a critic person in life.
“For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” Nelson Mandela.
It is our right to say what we think we have the freedom speech and that is a right all human beings have and most of the time do not use, please think more about other people and be a person who thinks before believe the lies the government try to tell us and you will be a successful person and the most important you will be a good person that cares about problems that affect our society.


Author of this article: J.C10


Well this post was made to give some facts and the analysis was made to give you important information about the food aid problems in the African countries and to mention some important facts about it.