[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 102 (Thursday, June 15, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E829]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                 AFRICA'S CURRENT AND POTENTIAL FAMINES

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, June 15, 2017

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, the Bible, in the Book of 
Ecclesiastes Chapter 3, Verse 2, tells us that: ``There is a time to 
plant and a time to harvest.'' That ancient prescription has allowed 
multitudes to be fed over the millennia, but now ruthless men seeking 
power have disrupted this cycle, causing man-made famine where none 
should exist in African countries from South Sudan to Nigeria to 
Somalia.
  Potential famine conditions in Africa and Yemen have been called the 
worst since World War II, even worse than the catastrophic 2011 famine 
in East Africa. What makes this round of potential famine even more 
tragic is how preventable it is. For example, South Sudan contains the 
most arable land in what was once a united Sudan. Aside from oil 
reserves, agriculture was seen as the key to South Sudan's future 
success. Now, areas such as the Equatoria provinces, South Sudan's 
breadbasket, are engulfed in conflict with citizens fleeing the country 
in the thousands daily.
  There are more than 4.8 million displaced South Sudanese--1.8 million 
refugees in neighboring countries and at least 2 million internally 
displaced persons (IDPs). South Sudan is experiencing heightened levels 
of food insecurity with as high as 27 percent of the population in some 
areas facing famine. Despite the government's contention that people 
are merely being frightened by rumors of conflict, South Sudan has 
quickly surpassed Eritrea to become the world's fastest emptying 
country.
  Another country seeing a major exodus due to conflict is Somalia. 
There are an estimated 881,000 Somali refugees, and the anticipated 
scale of population displacement from Somalia due to pervasive conflict 
and the threat of starvation will increase refugee flows throughout the 
region and into Europe. In Somalia, nearly 6.2 million people are 
currently in need of humanitarian assistance, and more than 2.9 million 
people are facing crisis or emergency levels of acute food insecurity, 
including nearly a million children under the age of five.
  Nigeria is yet another country close to experiencing famine due to 
conflict. There are 14 million people in northeast Nigeria who are in 
urgent need of humanitarian assistance, including more than 8 million 
children, and almost 6 million people are also facing severe food 
insecurity. Almost 9 million Nigerians are projected to suffer from 
food insecurity by August 2017, including more than 3 million people 
living in the northeast state of Borno.
  We focus on the part Boko Haram has played in creating chaos and near 
famine in Nigeria, and quite rightly so. More than 30,000 lives have 
been lost in violence related to Nigeria's Boko Haram insurgency, but 
there is a developing threat that could widen the likelihood of food 
insecurity there. Attacks by Fulani extremists on farmers in Nigeria's 
Middle Belt are increasing in intensity and could further exacerbate 
hunger in the region.
  The El Nino-La Nina weather cycles have caused drought as well as 
flooding in parts of Africa in recent years. The possibility of drought 
currently threatens famine in countries ranging from Angola to Sudan to 
Mozambique to Madagascar. Nevertheless, it is conflict that poses an 
even greater threat of famine in countries such as the Central African 
Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Mali and could 
cause or exacerbate famine should fighting disrupt planting-harvesting 
cycles and markets where locally produced food can be purchased.
  Ranking Member Bass and I just returned from a mission to South Sudan 
and Uganda. Humanitarian aid officials repeatedly told us that no 
matter how much aid is provided, it will not be enough to meet the 
ever-expanding need. Although we need to do more, no amount of 
assistance will do the job unless the conflict in South Sudan is 
definitively ended. Currently, there is not enough food to keep pace 
with the growing flow of refugees from South Sudan, and rations have 
been cut at times by half.
  There has been a cease-fire declared in South Sudan, but many 
observers believe that is due more to the rainy season preventing large 
movements of troops and heavy equipment than a genuine determination to 
end the conflict. This week, the Intergovernmental Authority on 
Development has convened a conference aimed at bringing the South Sudan 
conflict to an end. After numerous efforts to reach a lasting cease-
fire, one can only hope the realization of the immensity of this crisis 
will lead the warring parties to actually seek a lasting peace.
  The hearing I held today was intended to make the appeal both for 
continued humanitarian aid from our government and others in the 
international community, but also for a more robust international 
effort to end conflict in the countries where people are scattered in 
the millions and desperate levels of hunger are rampant. We must 
contend with the vagaries of weather, but we shouldn't have to see 
people suffer for the ambitions of those without mercy seeking power at 
any cost.

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