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August 12, 2005
Blog break
I will not be posting much over the next few days. In the meantime, click on the giraffe and go and look at a few of my photos from Africa, or watch a selection as a slideshow.
Or read some of my previous posts (comments have been closed on most of these due to comment spam):
Church, Discipleship and Mission
Justice Issues Series
Blogging
Africa
Tags: burkina faso africa church mission discipleship blogging burkina fulani justice poverty malaria missional missional church emerging church missionary
August 11, 2005
What will you do?
The West African food crisis affecting Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Mauritania is not the only situation in need of attention in Africa. FEWS has highlighted that there are current food emergencies also in Chad, southern Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, and Zimbabwe.
Common problems
Although Sudan and Zimbabwe have particular situations, the common problems behind the situations in most of these countries is not corruption or bad governance or war, but long-term poverty in areas dependant on rain-fed agriculture. With climate change and the advance of the desert making subsitence agriculture in these areas more precarious, they are highly vulnerable to crises of drought or pests such as locusts. With no cushion, a bad situation turns rapidly into a crisis.
Such countries are not "sexy". When was the last time you heard of Burkina Faso, if ever, on the news? Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso take 2nd, 3rd, and 4th bottom places in the UN development table. How indeed, can it be "normal" for one in four children to die before the age of five, as is the case in Niger? But reports and blogs about poverty there don't get attention. Only film of starving children on our screens actually does that.
If you have followed this blog at all, you will know that - with all their faults - these countries are trying within their capacity to help themselves. But their resources are few, and the task before them is enormous, needing huge investment.
A free-market famine?
The situation in this year has been made worse by other factors. Normally food prices would drop after the harvest. But last year's harvest failure led to huge grain price rises. Partly this was due to traders holding back grain, or selling it across the borders to Nigeria or Ghana for a better price. At the same time, animal prices fell as pasture disappeared. This has given rise to the situation where food is available in markets, but people don't have the money to buy it. The crisis in Niger was, as Ethan points out in part a "free-market famine".
External pressure also played its part. Free food distribution was held back because of concern that interference with the free market could disrupt Niger's development out of poverty. The IMF had forced Niger to get rid of food stocks, and to put tax on products such as milk in order to receive aid.
So, what shall we do?
These countries need our help. Part of that is a direct response to the current crises, by giving. But if the underlying long-term causes are not addressed, we will see this again and again. Long-term commitment is needed, with massive investment of aid for development, and with fair trade rules that help the poor. On the one hand, of course, this brings us back to the Make Poverty History campaign. At the level of government, there is the need for a huge emergency relief fund, which is being called for at the UN in September. There is the need for change in the world trade rules, which need to be addressed at the WTO in December. And the promises of aid and debt relief made at the G8 must be implemented.
But we ourselves are also responsible as individuals and as churches. We must not just give our £50, and then forget, and go back to our DVDs, only to be surprised when the next famine hits our screens. We cannot build bigger barns and bigger houses, and push for lower prices and a better life for ourselves, and neglect the impact our greed and our choices have on the world. We are accountable before God.
There is much more to say on this, and I want to come back to consider again our responsibility as Christians to a radical and joyful commitment to generosity, compassion, self-denial, service, love, faith, and justice. But for now, think about how you can do more than just giving the once. Commit yourself to give regularly. Find out about other crises. Write about them on your blog. And above all, pray and ask the Lord what he requires of you.
God bless you.
Tags: burkina faso africa aid burkina niger food crisis famine
Muslims help Burkina
The Aga Khan recently visited Burkina Faso. The Aga Khan is the spiritual leader of the Nizari sect of the Ismaili branch of Shi'a Islam.
He came to Burkina to co-launch a Micro-credit Agency with President Blaise Compaoré. The idea is to engage the mainstream banking sector in small business loans to the poor, in line with the UN international year of micro-finance. Apparently the Aga Khan group holds majority shares in the Comoe National Sugar Factory at Banfora, and the Fasoplast plastics factory in Bobo-Dioulasso, and has for several years headed the national airline, Air Burkina.
Now, I wonder if there is a role for Christian businesses to use their skills and profits to help poor countries in similar ways, developing micro-enterprise etc, or whether it should just be left to Muslims...
Tags: burkina faso africa aid burkina micro-credit business
August 09, 2005
Famine or no famine?
The BBC report that the Niger president, Mamadou Tanja, denies there is a famine in his country.
In strict definition at least, it seems he is correct. The most useful report on the situation seems to be this one by FEWS, the famine early warning system. In response to the question "Is there now or will there soon be a famine or mass starvation in Niger?" they state:
Food crisis, not famine
"There is a very severe, but localized, food security crisis in some pastoral and agro-pastoral areas of northern Maradi, Tillabery, Zinder, and Tahoua regions caused by an early end of last year’s rains, locust damage to some pasture lands, current high prices of food, and chronic non-food causes of malnutrition. In these areas, high malnutrition rates, some of which reveal severe local problems, will inevitably be accompanied by increases in the “normally” high levels of infant mortality." They state this is the consensus between the Niger government, WFP, FAO, CILSS, and FEWS NET on the "locally severe, but non-famine nature of the crisis.
If the media have exaggerated the extent of the crisis, there yet remains a crisis - a "locally severe" food crisis. Aid agencies report children dying of hunger every day. In this, President Tanja seems to be going against the consensus, by claiming the situation is not worse than usual, and in seeing some political plot behind the claims of famine.
The state of the Niger Government
Yet M Tanja is not a tyrant or despot. Indeed, he was welcomed to the White House by George Bush less than two months ago, and was praised, along with four other African presidents for the "strong statement that these leaders have made about democracy and the importance of democracy on the continent of Africa." He is Niger's first elected president to complete his term without assassination or coup.
FEWS says: "Within the limitations of its own resources, the Government of Niger has been responsive to the current food security crisis in its continuous and collaborative monitoring and assessment of conditions, subsidized cereal sales from reserve stocks, a “loaning” of cereals in affected areas until the next harvest, and more recently, in distributing free food."
Long-term Poverty Issue
The FEWS report raises other interesting issues with the West African food crisis, and is worth serious reading. One main point that comes through is that - while we need to address the current crisis - it is the long-term poverty issues that need to be dealt with if the crisis is not to recur:
"This food crisis is not just a temporary emergency. It is the predictable and inevitable result of inadequately-addressed chronic poverty in the world’s second poorest country. Although the willingness of much of the world to address these “famine” conditions in Niger is appropriate and welcome, without a similar commitment and prolonged attention to addressing the chronic issues that are at the heart of the current localized crises, the same problems will re-occur again soon."
Tags: niger africa aid famine food crisis tanja
August 04, 2005
West African Food Crisis
The crisis in West Africa continues. Money is finally being given, and food beginning to arrive, but more help is needed. Please give what you can to help.
Although Niger has been the worst hit so far, and has had most attention, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Mauritania are also badly affected:
Niger
The situation on the ground in the three provinces of Zinder, Maradi and Tahoua is fraught: people are eating grass and dying of hunger; families are walking 20 miles to get to feeding centres where there is not enough food to go around. Children are being tagged as to whether they are starving enough to get food. There is simply not enough for everyone, and many are having to go without.
The rains have finally arrived, which is good for the fields - where people remain to work them - but the rain also brings problems: malaria can kill off those weakened by hunger; roads can be washed away, hindering the trucks bringing food aid.
Cattle and sheep - the main source of livelihood for many - have died in their hundreds. Many who had large herds now have lost all. Those that are left are skin and bones and cannot be sold for any price.
The World Food Programme (WFP) said it had raised its appeal for its Niger operation to US$57.6 million from a previous appeal of US$16 million because of the raised costs of emergency relief. It could have intervened earlier and reduced the price of dealing with the crisis had it received earlier responses to appeals, but international governments were slow to respond.
Further information:
Niger Watch
Guardian special reports.
Slide show
Burkina Faso
More than 500,000 people in Burkina Faso are also in immediate need of food assistance, particularly in the northern province of Oudalan, the area around Gorom-Gorom, where we are doing some food aid distribution.
It seems the high commissioner of the province has just been "removed from office", along with several other local figures, following a scandal in which more than 50 tonnes of food aid "disappeared." Fortunately, the police seem to have acted quickly and effectively to deal with the corruption.
Our food aid will, in any case, be handled by the pastor of the local church, a man I trust, and whom I have used before for similar food distribution.
Mali
More than 1 million people in Mali face a major food crisis because rich countries have not responded to calls for emergency funds. Aid agencies say donors must act now to help the 1.1 million people at risk there. The worst-hit areas in are Timbuktu, Gao and Kidal, in the north of the country. Only 14% of the $7.4m (£4.18m) requested by the World Food Programme for Mali has been received since it launched an appeal in December.
Mauritania
In Mauritania, around 800,000 people - more than 25% of the population - are at risk, with the worst-affected regions being Aftout and Affol, in the south-east, and the Senegal River Valley to the south.
Mauritania has also just had a bloodless coup d'etat, which has been condemned by the UN, African Union, and the US.
Please donate: you can give to the Disaster Emergency Committee, which includes Tear Fund, World Vision, and Christian Aid, and is working in all four countries.
Please blog: write a post about this crisis, to raise awareness and encourage people to respond. Register at Bloggers Unite for Africa to express your concern and commitment.
Tomorrow I hope to give some more thoughts on this food crisis and some elements of a Christian response.
Tags: burkina faso africa aid burkina niger mali famine mauritania
August 01, 2005
A girl's education...(continued)
Thank you to those of you who have responded to the article What is a girl's education worth? Some have expressed interest in helping support others through school in Burkina. I have previously had a fund for this, and am re-opening it:
Education Fund for Burkina Faso
The fund will be used for two things:
1. Providing for orphans and other poor children to go to school. If funds and structure allow, I hope this would include one meal a day. Read about Steve's conversation with my friend Iisaa about his experience at school.
2. Individual grants to enable some girl students, to go on to a Christian college, similar to this one.
If you want to give to this, you can send a gift to World Horizons at the following addresses. On the back of the cheque, and in a convering note, state that it is for "Education Fund in Gorom-Gorom, Burkina Faso":
World Horizons, North Dock, Llanelli, Carms SA15 2LF, UK
World Horizons, PO Box 17721, Richmond, VA 23226, USA
Many thanks.
Tags: burkina faso gorom-gorom africa aid burkina education
Updates on Africa
* Niger and West Africa.
* Sudan.
* Bloggers Unite for Africa.
