BACKGROUNDER.

Hope-- Hope in the face of difficulty. Hope in the face of uncertainty. The audacity of hope! In the end, that is God's greatest gift to us. A belief in things not seen. A belief that there are better days ahead.

-BARACK OBAMA, speech, 2004 DNC Convention

What do you really know about the African Famine Relief?  Yeah, I'm sure you've seen the commercials for donations and have taken a glance at the news, and you tend to put this issue in the back of your mind, right? Well, it is more of an important issue then you think. These are human beings, they are suffering from a famine, one of the worst in the world. The Horn of Africa, which consists of the countries Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti, and the Sudan, are suffering from severe conditions of famine that the area has seen in twenty years. Drought, high food costs and civil unrest are the few of many problems taking a toll on the people of these African countries. There are so many elements that contribute to this famine, it is like never ending events that just won't resolve. Drought conditions have made it hard for subsistence farmers to  raise the crops they need to feed their livestock or trade with other countries, and also, people are resulted in drinking contaminated water which leads to health problems. The lack of sufficient food or water for livestock have made them sick, dying or too thin to serve as food for trade. The Horn of Africa countries have lack of funding to develop drought-resistant crops or to employ people in other fields. See what I mean? But that doesn't mean we haven't tried. In 1992, the United Nations and United States sent ground forces into Somalia to try and restore safe movement of goods. The movement was successful for two years and starvation decreased. But in 1995, conflict had escalated and the UN withdrew forces after coming under attack. On a brighter note, there is a success story to end the starvation in Africa. The creation of Ready-To-Use-Food; a high calorie, protein rich, vitamin fortified "peanut goo" that comes in shelf stable single serving packets and requires no refrigeration! Many organizations such as the United Nations Children Fund and Doctors Without Borders have purchased the product. Valid Nutrition, a British non-profit company has opened up a factory in Malawi to produce the product and has contracted existing factories in Kenya and Zambia as well. Organizations such as the United Nations, CARE and the Red Cross are fighting hard to end this famine, but with great difficulty. To end it once and for all, you can not only resolve just one issue, it has to be all of them; the environment, the agriculture, the government, the civil unrest and the economy. A recent but hopeful study has shown that Africa can supply its own food needs, and even become an exporter within a generation!

"Horn of Africa." Alliance For Peacebuilding. Web. 05 Dec. 2011

My main focus will be on Somalia, since it has the most conflict. On July 20, 2011 the UN officially declared a famine in Somalia, where eleven million people faced hunger and malnutrition. I will go in depth on the challenges Somalia faces; from drought to an absent government to the al-Shabaab rebel group. Stay tuned!

Click for this intriguing interview with K'naan!

"African Success : Biography of K'naan WARSAME." African Success : People Changing the Face of Africa. Web. 07 Dec. 2011. 

"The fact is that this generation -- yours, my generation ... we're the first generation that can look at poverty and disease, look across the ocean to Africa and say with a straight face, we can be the first to end this sort of stupid extreme poverty, where in the world of plenty, a child can die for lack of food in it's belly."

-BONO, 2004 PENN Address