World ignoring El Ñiño fund request
The World Food Program and Food and Agriculture Organization requested $202 million in June to support nearly nine million people.
The World Food Program and Food and Agriculture Organization requested $202 million in June to support nearly nine million people.
NAIROIBI, Kenya (AFP) — The United Nations has received just one-fifth of the $202 million requested to prepare for food crises caused by El Ñiño in 22 high-risk countries, a top official told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Friday.
The natural El Ñiño warming phenomenon, due to peak between October and December, is on course to be the strongest on record, amplifying the effects of human-induced climate change.
The expected droughts and flooding are likely to hit hardest in many countries already struggling with severe food insecurity.
More than half of the 22 highest-risk countries are in Africa, but others are spread across Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean.
The UN said this week that millions of people in Somalia alone already face high levels of hunger, with acute malnutrition among children set to worsen as El Ñiño hits.
The UN’s World Food Program and Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) requested $202 million in June to support nearly nine million people in these countries.
But they have received only around $40 million, Rein Paulsen, director of emergencies and resilience at the FAO, told AFP in Nairobi.
“We have early warnings. We understand what’s required... (but) funding is a very real challenge that’s limiting our ability to do what we know can mitigate and minimize the impact of either flooding or droughts,” he said.
It was all the more regrettable, he said, since the sum is low by international standards.
“It avoids the need for a much more expensive humanitarian response if the full disaster impacts unfold,” he added.
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