THE CAUSES.

ABSENT GOVERNMENT.

Somalia, a country of 9.3 million, has been without a functioning government since 1991. So, it is no accident that Somalia has suffered the blunt of the current food crisis in the Horn of Africa. There has been many signed and forgotten peace treaties among rival warlords. There has also been repeated attempts to establish a central unity government since 2000. In 2004, through a peace negotiation in Kenya, the Transitional Federal Government was established. It was composed of unelected clan representatives and backed by Western powers. The government clashed with the Islamic Courts Union (ICU); a group heavily believing in Sharia law. A U.S. backed invasion by Ethiopian armed forces intervened the ICU's plans to overthrow and also helped prop up the transitional government. When Ethiopian troops withdrew in 2009, the transitional government was kept running for an extra two years, only thanks to the African Union. Al-Shabaab evolved from the Islamic Courts Union and began to take over in 2006, and everything just kept going downhill from there.

INFRASTRUCTURE AND CIVIL UNREST
The Deyr seasonal rains that has saved Somalia from its worst drought in 60 years has also brought in new challenges. Dangerous and inaccessible roads now carry water borne diseases such as cholera that might prove lethal to a population recovering from malnutrition. The rains have also not translated into food right away, a shortage of grain and staple goods are expected to persist in the next  year. Many analysts continue to question why this emergency was not prevented because the severe drought and food shortage was predicted last year. As well as rushing to the aid of the victims of the famine, many are still furious with African politicians for not doing more to prevent the crisis. With the Kenyan military trying to defeat the al-Shabaab comes consequences; the widening conflict threatens to increase internal displacement and hamper the delivery of aid. Susanna Nicol states that the Kenyan Military operation has not yet affected aid delivery which passes through Mogadishu and Afgoye.

GLOBAL WARMING.

Twelve million people dead, thirty thousand of them children. All because of this famine and you would think one of the causes would be more then just global warming. Well, you're wrong. Environmentalists say, the famine is a direct consequence of weather phenomena associated with climate change and global warming. El Nino and La Nina causes there to be a rainy season in Asia and Australia and droughts in the others, especially Africa; the worst effected country, Somalia. La Nina has caused below average precipitation in East Africa, but  the drought is now more extreme then usual, which caused the famine. Come rainy season, it may intensify the crisis; torrential* rain falling on extremely dry earth will wash away the most fertile soil which will make the food crisis even more dramatic. Environmentalists add that climate change, associated phenomena and bad agricultural practice such as overgrazing* are leading to increasing desertification across Africa. On the plus side, humanitarian organizations are buying cattle in poor condition to distribute the meat among the communities most affected by the famine. It's enough to calm the storm for a while, but permanent solutions need to be made!

*Torrential: Falling rapidly and in copious quantities.

*Overgrazing: Occurs when plants are exposed to intensive grazing for extended periods of time, or without sufficient recovery periods.

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