PRESS RELEASES - Toronto Star Article

Mar 19, 2006 - Toronto Star

By: Anna Morgan



It takes a world to raise a village; We must find ways to help hungry and keep aid from warlords

Recent news reports indicate that nothing short of a miracle can prevent a drought in the Horn of Africa from becoming a human catastrophe.

Livestock and crops have already started to die and without aid, 11 million people are in danger of starvation in Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti and Somalia. Officials are calling for $338 million to provide urgent food and water. But money will not be enough to prevent the famine that lays on the horizon.

Politicians and government organizations will have to rise above partisan affiliations to make sure that aid winds up in the hands of those who need it.

Earlier this month, when the Canadian Somali Congress and the Canadian International Peace Project, two Toronto-based organizations, held a press conference in Ottawa to draw attention to the crisis, the media and government barely responded.

One representative of the New Democratic Party was there in a supportive role. The Bloc Quebecois was absent, their commitment to self-determination revealing itself as a commitment to self-absorption. The Liberals came but spent their time introducing the crowd to their cadre of party members. As for the ruling Conservatives, no one showed up or even answered the invitation to attend.

On the other hand, several non-governmental and community organizations joined together in an unprecedented manner to express their concern on the issue. It's not that often that the Canadian Arab Federation, the Canadian Jewish Congress, the Assembly of First Nations and the Islamic Council of Imams-Canada agree to sign a statement together.

It would be hard to say that the public isn't interested in the looming crisis. For his part, Canadian Somali Congress president Mohamed Kassim called on the federal government to "exercise leadership in addressing this humanitarian situation." Yet, with little media attention and minimal political interest, the issue promises to be ignored by the Canadian powers-that-be.

The question for the rest of us is, why?

The challenge lies in getting aid to the people who really need it and out of the hands of the warlords and bandits that control affected areas.

Recent events suggest that large organizations on the ground can do little to prevent this from happening. Nor are they above becoming part of the problem.

It's hard to forget that the last time the United Nations administered a large-scale economic aid project - the Iraqi oil-for- food program - UN officials themselves were accused of siphoning off the money.

So, is it time to admit that with all the resources this world has to offer, poverty should be left for the affected people to resolve? Fortunately, we live in an era where activists are willing to think outside government agencies. Many are coming up with innovative solutions that combine private and public organizations.

In a pilot project, the World Food Program has taken out an insurance policy that will pay if Ethiopian rains don't fall this year. Another approach is being tested by economist Jeffrey Sachs, who is currently implementing a program for poor villages that combines private sector funds and aid workers on the ground. His plan has already achieved success in Kenya.

In How to Change the World, another author, David Bornstein, documents how social entrepreneurial projects can tackle poverty at grassroot levels.

At this point, it's anyone's guess whether these strategies have long-term sustainability.

However, finding creative solutions to world poverty is becoming increasingly important where corrupt or dysfunctional governments stand in the way of internal development.

If aid to desperate communities is cut off, poverty and despair sometimes ferment into breeding grounds for anarchy and terrorism. And that affects us all.

It might be naive to say that new programs will solve all the world's problems, especially when it comes to poor populations in complex conflict zones.

But it would also be cold-hearted to say that there's nothing to be gained by trying to attend to the humanitarian needs of struggling societies.

The first thing to do, however, is to pay attention.