[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 9]
[Senate]
[Pages 12658-12659]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                           EAST AFRICA FAMINE

  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, many of us undoubtedly remember the heart 
wrenching images of starving Ethiopian and Somali children in the 1980s 
and 1990s. Those haunting images are hard to forget.
  Unfortunately, I am compelled to come to the floor to draw attention 
to a tragic famine again confronting that part of the world.
  On July 21, the United Nations declared ``famine level food 
insecurity'' in two regions in southern Somalia.
  What does ``famine level food insecurity'' mean?
  It means three tragic conditions are all occurring at the same time. 
First, malnutrition rates exceed 30 percent. Second, access to food and 
water is below subsistence levels for extended periods of time. And 
third, more than 2,000 to 10,000 people are dying of hunger each day.
  Or more simply--a severe famine threatens the lives of 11 million 
people in east Africa today. The area affected by famine is expected to 
expand in coming weeks--and if not addressed soon--in coming months.
  These millions of men, women, and children in Somalia and around the 
Horn of Africa are literally starving to death. These are children who 
will never reach their full potential because they do not have simple 
nutrients to fully develop--nutrients we take for granted.
  Josette Sheeran, executive director of the World Food Program, 
carries around devastating photos showing what malnutrition does to the 
brain development of children.
  She notes that when a child is born, about 60 percent of that baby's 
brain is formed and, if in the next 3 years in life they don't have 
adequate nutrition, their brains will not grow to maturity.

[[Page 12659]]

  Her photos show the brain of a 3-year-old child who was properly 
nourished and that of a child who was malnourished. The actual volume 
of the brain of the malnourished child is as much as 40 percent 
smaller.
  These are the innocent victims of hunger in east Africa and sadly, in 
still too many other corners of the globe.
  I am happy to note that the U.S. is the largest bilateral donor of 
emergency assistance to this growing crisis. We have responded with 
over $431 million in food and nonfood emergency assistance this year 
alone. And Secretary of State Clinton just announced an additional $28 
million in aid for people in Somalia and for Somali refugees in Kenya.
  But more needs to be done and the United States cannot solve this 
crisis alone.
  How did this happen again?
  The Horn of Africa is rife with challenges, both natural and man-
made. The region has had two insufficient rainy seasons culminating in 
the driest growing season recorded in 60 years.
  Neither crops nor livestock are surviving, so food and commodities 
now sell at prices well beyond the reach of the country's people.
  The price of red sorghum, a staple crop in Somalia, has increased 
more than 200 percent. In Kenya, the price of white corn has increased 
58 percent. And in Ethiopia, the price of yellow corn has increased by 
more than 100 percent.
  Millions of people, including in the neighboring countries of Kenya, 
Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Uganda are also at risk of starvation.
  It's also a man-made crisis. Somalia's central government collapsed 
over 20 years ago. And al-Shabaab, a terrorist organization, has 
controlled much of southern Somalia since 2006.
  Not surprisingly, the two areas most acutely experiencing famine are 
in southern Somalia, which is under al-Shabaab-control. Al-Shabaab 
recently expelled relief organizations, which effectively destroyed 
food-aid distribution channels--the lifeline for Somalis trapped under 
their control.
  The mounting food crisis is also creating a refugee crisis that 
recognizes no borders. Already almost 25 percent of the Somali 
population--2 million out of 7.5 total million people--are displaced.
  Kenya, with 3.5 million people who are vulnerable to food insecurity, 
is also already home to Dadaab, the largest refugee camp in the world.
  This camp was built 20 years ago as a temporary shelter for 90,000 
people. Today it holds 400,000. And another 1,300 refugees arrive every 
day from Somalia.
  In Ethiopia, a refugee camp called Dollo Ado is holding 120,000 
people. But with a population of 3.2 million people affected by the 
famine, this camp is growing by 2,000 people per day.
  Mogadishu, the hollowed out capital of Somalia, has become an oasis 
in southern Somalia because relief organizations are allowed to operate 
life-saving programs there. This is the city that thousands of people 
have fled in the past 20 years due to violence.
  Can you imagine Mogadishu being an oasis?
  Yet the capital city is seeing a daily influx of 1,000 to 1,500 
people.
  This network of emergency and humanitarian programs is the only hope 
for millions of people and deserves continued international support.
  Stepping in to provide food, water and basic sustenance where there 
is none is not only the right thing to do, it is the American thing to 
do. We have always led and joined efforts to help the most vulnerable 
around the world and should continue to do so.
  The House passed its Agriculture Appropriations for 2012 and chose to 
reduce the aid available for emergencies like these by 49 percent.
  Thankfully, USAID is on the ground in Africa providing expertise, and 
Administrator Shah personally visited the region last week.
  And the Feed the Future Program--which is modeled on the Global Food 
Security Act I sponsored with Senators Lugar and Casey--has been 
undertaken by the Obama administration. The program works to break the 
cycle of hunger and food insecurity by getting at the root causes and 
helping countries develop their own viable agricultural sectors.
  As Josette Sheeran points out, ``for the first time in most people's 
memory we're in a post-surplus world. There is no surplus of food in 
the world and you have one bad drought or one bad flood . . . it will 
impact the price of food globally.''
  In the meantime, the international community needs to step up to the 
plate in east Africa before it is too late. And the United States must 
continue to show moral leadership even in a time of stretched budgets.
  International donors are meeting this week in Nairobi to try to raise 
$1.6 billion to help with this crisis in Africa. I urge our friends and 
allies around the world to help do their part.

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