East Africa Famine

Floor Speech

Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, many of us undoubtedly remember the heart wrenching images of starving Ethiopian and Somali children in the 1980s and 1990s. Those haunting images are hard to forget.

Unfortunately, I am compelled to come to the floor to draw attention to a tragic famine again confronting that part of the world.

On July 21, the United Nations declared "famine level food insecurity'' in two regions in southern Somalia.

What does "famine level food insecurity'' mean?

It means three tragic conditions are all occurring at the same time. First, malnutrition rates exceed 30 percent. Second, access to food and water is below subsistence levels for extended periods of time. And third, more than 2,000 to 10,000 people are dying of hunger each day.

Or more simply--a severe famine threatens the lives of 11 million people in east Africa today. The area affected by famine is expected to expand in coming weeks--and if not addressed soon--in coming months.

These millions of men, women, and children in Somalia and around the Horn of Africa are literally starving to death. These are children who will never reach their full potential because they do not have simple nutrients to fully develop--nutrients we take for granted.

Josette Sheeran, executive director of the World Food Program, carries around devastating photos showing what malnutrition does to the brain development of children.

She notes that when a child is born, about 60 percent of that baby's brain is formed and, if in the next 3 years in life they don't have adequate nutrition, their brains will not grow to maturity.

Her photos show the brain of a 3-year-old child who was properly nourished and that of a child who was malnourished. The actual volume of the brain of the malnourished child is as much as 40 percent smaller.

These are the innocent victims of hunger in east Africa and sadly, in still too many other corners of the globe.

I am happy to note that the U.S. is the largest bilateral donor of emergency assistance to this growing crisis. We have responded with over $431 million in food and nonfood emergency assistance this year alone. And Secretary of State Clinton just announced an additional $28 million in aid for people in Somalia and for Somali refugees in Kenya.

But more needs to be done and the United States cannot solve this crisis alone.

How did this happen again?

The Horn of Africa is rife with challenges, both natural and man-made. The region has had two insufficient rainy seasons culminating in the driest growing season recorded in 60 years.

Neither crops nor livestock are surviving, so food and commodities now sell at prices well beyond the reach of the country's people.

The price of red sorghum, a staple crop in Somalia, has increased more than 200 percent. In Kenya, the price of white corn has increased 58 percent. And in Ethiopia, the price of yellow corn has increased by more than 100 percent.

Millions of people, including in the neighboring countries of Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Uganda are also at risk of starvation.

It's also a man-made crisis. Somalia's central government collapsed over 20 years ago. And al-Shabaab, a terrorist organization, has controlled much of southern Somalia since 2006.

Not surprisingly, the two areas most acutely experiencing famine are in southern Somalia, which is under al-Shabaab-control. Al-Shabaab recently expelled relief organizations, which effectively destroyed food-aid distribution channels--the lifeline for Somalis trapped under their control.

The mounting food crisis is also creating a refugee crisis that recognizes no borders. Already almost 25 percent of the Somali population--2 million out of 7.5 total million people--are displaced.

Kenya, with 3.5 million people who are vulnerable to food insecurity, is also already home to Dadaab, the largest refugee camp in the world.

This camp was built 20 years ago as a temporary shelter for 90,000 people. Today it holds 400,000. And another 1,300 refugees arrive every day from Somalia.

In Ethiopia, a refugee camp called Dollo Ado is holding 120,000 people. But with a population of 3.2 million people affected by the famine, this camp is growing by 2,000 people per day.

Mogadishu, the hollowed out capital of Somalia, has become an oasis in southern Somalia because relief organizations are allowed to operate life-saving programs there. This is the city that thousands of people have fled in the past 20 years due to violence.

Can you imagine Mogadishu being an oasis?

Yet the capital city is seeing a daily influx of 1,000 to 1,500 people.

This network of emergency and humanitarian programs is the only hope for millions of people and deserves continued international support.

Stepping in to provide food, water and basic sustenance where there is none is not only the right thing to do, it is the American thing to do. We have always led and joined efforts to help the most vulnerable around the world and should continue to do so.

The House passed its Agriculture Appropriations for 2012 and chose to reduce the aid available for emergencies like these by 49 percent.

Thankfully, USAID is on the ground in Africa providing expertise, and Administrator Shah personally visited the region last week.

And the Feed the Future Program--which is modeled on the Global Food Security Act I sponsored with Senators Lugar and Casey--has been undertaken by the Obama administration. The program works to break the cycle of hunger and food insecurity by getting at the root causes and helping countries develop their own viable agricultural sectors.

As Josette Sheeran points out, ``for the first time in most people's memory we're in a post-surplus world. There is no surplus of food in the world and you have one bad drought or one bad flood ..... it will impact the price of food globally.''

In the meantime, the international community needs to step up to the plate in east Africa before it is too late. And the United States must continue to show moral leadership even in a time of stretched budgets.

International donors are meeting this week in Nairobi to try to raise $1.6 billion to help with this crisis in Africa. I urge our friends and allies around the world to help do their part.

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