Famine In Somalia Essay

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Laura Smith – Spark on www.cnn.com writes, “Half of the 258,000 Somalis who died in the famine were children younger than 5.” (Smith-Spark et al. May 02, 2013) Somalia was once considered to be one of the most prosperous countries in Africa, but now is considered as one of the worse. How did this horrible transition occur to such a prosperous country? This horrendous result is due to the famine, lack of resources, and lack of trade. Oxfam International states, “Famines result from a combination “triple failure” ("Famine in Somalia: causes and solutions"). This triple failure includes production, access, and response failures. Somalia has been the victim of a two-year drought. Oxfam International states, “particularly in the expectation of the next harvest being 50% of normal.” ("Famine in Somalia: causes and solutions") Because Somalia cannot feed its people, this issue creates malnutrition and affects all ages, especially the young. This is a massive problem in their economic system. The young die too early, therefore creating a gap in the age distribution, which can affect Somalia’s work force in the future. This could also make the economic system weaker. If the only people living in Somalia are old, then there will not be any work done. One reason that they die so young is because of the lack of food. The availability of the food is minimal. Oxfam International states, “The drought has killed off the pastoralists’ prime livestock assets (up to 90% animal mortality in some areas), slashing further their purchasing power.” ("Famine in Somalia: causes and solutions") Somalia ‘s access to its food is limited because the people of Somalia cannot feed their animals. The people of Somalia also cannot trade for food, because dead... ... middle of paper ... ...lance of trade and consistent revenue. The UN can help these countries build their economies if they can improve their trade. The UN can do all of this by implementing a single policy. The policy that will have to be passed is a distribution policy. If this policy is passed, the money generated from trade could be used in projects for the future and help these countries develop as a whole. This distribution policy will take time to pass due to other actors, but these actors are not a big issue. This distribution policy benefits the economies of developing countries such as Somalia. It helps the countries develop a balance of trade and generate revenue. Food will become more available to the Somalia people, and less people will be affected. Everyone in Somalia will have the opportunity to provide food for themselves and others. The hunger in Somalia will cease.

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