FAO: severe weather means crisis in Horn of Africa, beyond

(Vatican Radio) The Horn of Africa is currently experiencing an intense drought brought on in significant part by the el Niño weather phenomenon, which is often followed by the la Niña phenomenon, creating a cycle of drought and flooding, which climatologists say is made more intense and more frequent by climate change. Millions of people are already affected, many of whom in the largely agriculture-based societies and economies of the region face a total and permanent loss of their livelihood.

A senior technical officer with the FAO emergency and rehabilitation division, Neil Marsland, told Vatican Radio his organization urgently needs help to carry out its mission of helping vulnerable people predict, prepare for, and protect themselves against these increasingly intense phenomena and preserve their way of life. “These weather patterns – what’s going on is creating huge challenges for these agricultural systems, and what we need to do as an international, as national and as local communities, is make these [vulnerable] communities more resilient to the effects of extreme climate,” Marsland said.

Click below to hear the FAO's Neil Marsland speak with Chris Altieri

He went on to detail a four-pillared program of prediction, preparation, insulation and relief/support, spearheaded by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization in partnership with the UN’s World Food Program and other international, government, and civil society actors.

The FAO and partners are currently experiencing an increasingly critical shortage of funding, however.

The FAO has recently launched an appeal for $50 million to implement a three-pronged plan to help protect the lives and livelihoods of Ethiopian farmers, and raisers of livestock – an appeal that comes at a time when international donor funds are already under considerable stress from the broad array of major crises around the world.