The spate of hunger-related deaths reported across different countries in the Horn of Africa can no longer be dismissed as a seasonal setback. In the past six years, per capita food-grain absorption in Africa has fallen significantly to levels last seen during the early years of World War II and the Somalia and Ethiopia famine. Growing hunger among Africa’s poorer citizens is closely linked with the agrarian crisis sweeping the region, a crisis that is clearly structural and cannot be resolved by band-aid economic measures.

The UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy for Humanitarian crisis in the Horn of Africa, Mr. Martti Ahrisaari, called on donor countries and agencies to give timely response in tackling humanitarian problems in the region, particularly in Eritrea. He also underlined that all partners should identify the basic cause of recurrent drought in Eritrea and give prompt response to meet the challenge. Although Eritrea shifted its national priorities and gave top importance to achieve food security, the complacency with which such issues have been treated over the past 14 years is appalling.

Eritrea can draw liberally from other countries’ policy wisdom. These countries endeavor to make a dent on mass poverty, expand agriculture to avert famine, build infrastructure, and create new opportunities for their citizens — with minimal damage to forests, wetlands, and coastal habitats.

Food availability, affordability, access, and absorption is now a problem for the poor at all levels. This crisis is tied to socio-economic policies imposed on Africa in the past few decades.

The withdrawal of credit sharpened the crisis in farming. Rural unemployment deepened hunger and drove large-scale distress migrations of labour to neighbouring countries. The dismantling of public health systems badly affected individual absorption capacities. Besides, the Governments in some of the countries in this region tended to delay Food for Work programmes until those in need of them left in desperate search for work.

The crisis is not purely regional or rural. The failure of organized industry to create a decent number of jobs in urban areas has greatly reduced its capacity to absorb the outflow of rural labour in the Horn. Indeed, this has come on top of the problems faced by the urban poor. Many of these policies were nationally, and some globally, driven. If no serious response comes in time, the Horn of Africa’s experience could be replicated across many countries in North-East Africa.

The new millennium however has brought with it a new consciousness. Governments should take appropriate steps to tackle the food insecurity and provide the basic needs and livelihood for their people. They should admit their failure to tackle mass hunger in their respective countries, be transparent and make it clear that economic growth in the region has to be accompanied by equity and social justice. The challenge is to act decisively on this realization. The coming years will show whether governments in this region are on the same wavelength and have the political will to tackle this issue.