[Oxfam] To End Hunger -- More Aid, Quicker Aid, Smarter Aid

from All Africa

Inter Press Service (Johannesburg)

Moyiga Nduru
Johannesburg

Global aid agency Oxfam has called for a thorough review of efforts to end hunger in Africa, arguing that emergency assistance is often inadequate and arrives too late -- while the underlying causes of hunger are going largely unaddressed.

This comes in a report titled 'Causing Hunger: An Overview of the Food Crisis in Africa', issued Monday.

Humanitarian assistance to the continent increased from 946 million dollars in 1997 to just over three billion dollars in 2003, says the agency. Yet, hunger remains acute throughout Africa, as evidenced by the string of food crises that has ravaged the continent during the past months alone in the Sahel, Southern Africa, and Horn of Africa.

According to Oxfam, donors point to doubts over the ability of United Nations agencies to administer aid effectively as constituting one of the reasons for insufficient or late funding of U.N. appeals. Nonetheless, the aid group believes a one billion dollar commitment by donors to the U.N. Central Emergency Response Fund is key to "quicker and more equitable assistance."

Inadequate early warning systems and the failure to heed signs of an impending food crisis are also amongst the factors that delay aid -- while the allocation of funds may be more influenced by media attention and politics, than need.

The report further highlights a "disproportionate emphasis on in-kind food-aid donations", noting that this form of assistance only goes part of the way to addressing food crises.

"Although food aid can play an important role in emergencies and save lives, it should not be viewed as the inevitable default response to food insecurity, particularly where poverty is the main cause of hunger," says Oxfam. "Other innovative solutions -- such as cash transfers, food vouchers or cash-for-work programmes -- may be more appropriate."

The agency cites the case of seed fairs in Zimbabwe, where farmers have been given vouchers to purchase seeds. This has provided them with the option of buying seeds for crops that are hardier than others, giving farmers a better chance of reaping a harvest under difficult conditions.

Food donations from abroad may also have as much to do with enabling donor countries to get rid of agricultural surpluses, as with humanitarian motives, notes Oxfam.

"Dumping imported food from the United States and Europe in Africa is not the most helpful way of addressing food security," Nicki Bennett, Oxfam regional humanitarian advocacy co-ordinator, told IPS. "It's cheaper and quicker to buy food locally."

The group states further that graft can undermine the effectiveness of aid.

"Another key challenge is to ensure that emergency aid is not diverted by corrupt elites, or used by governments or other groups for their own ends. This is a particular risk in conflict situations However, aid programmes can be designed to reduce these risks," indicates the report.

But, dealing with the loopholes in emergency aid provision will only go part of the way to addressing African food insecurity. As important are measures to target what Oxfam calls the "root causes" of hunger.

These include poverty, unfair global trade rules, conflict and HIV/AIDS, climate change -- and a dearth of effective policies to assist rural communities.

Amongst its recommendations for tackling the underlying causes of hunger, Oxfam advises increasing long-term investment in the development of rural areas to a minimum of 10 percent of government spending; this target was set for African states by the African Union.

These funds should be supplemented by foreign aid, building on the "slight recovery" that Oxfam says has characterised external assistance to agriculture in sub-Saharan Africa recently -- this after years of decline. According to the report, foreign aid for agricultural activities in Africa dropped by 43 percent -- from an average of 1.7 billion dollars to 974 million dollars -- between 1990 and 2002.

Notes Sam Moyo, executive director of the Harare-based African Institute for Agrarian Study, "We need to improve productivity through modern technology, through provision of water, improved seed varieties and fertilization."

Oxfam's recommendations for dealing with the root causes of hunger also include calls for greater African and international efforts in support of peace, an end to the dumping of subsidised agricultural exports by the developed world that undercuts sales of local produce, and increased funding for HIV/AIDS programmes.

"By 2020 a fifth of the agricultural workforce in Southern African countries will have been claimed by AIDS," the agency warns.

Oxfam further states that wealthy states and large emerging economies should focus more on reducing global warming, and preparing Africa to cope with climate change -- while African countries should address environmental degradation, and plan their own response to climate change.

"Africa is the continent most vulnerable to climate change because of its extreme poverty and dependence on rain-fed agriculture, which means that even small changes in the weather can have big impacts," says the report.

"If current trends continue, some climate models predict that by 2050 Africa will be warmer by 0.5-2 degrees Celsius," it adds.

"One credible prediction estimates that Africa will have between 55 and 65 million extra people at risk of hunger by the 2080s if global temperatures increase by less than 2.5°C. That figure will rise to 80 million if the increase is higher."