|
|
Institute for Crisis, Disaster, and Risk Management Crisis and Emergency Management Newsletter Website |
|
|
November
2008
Volume
15
- Number 2 |
|
Opinion Piece: Famine in By: Kelly Albrecht As was anticipated, this occurred in November 2007. Aid agencies estimated that up to one million people were affected in these rural areas, yet the government was ill prepared and the global community heard little of the events that were occurring. While the government had been planning for these events, it was largely unprepared and unable to provide assistance to its citizens. The state-run Bamboo Flowering and Famine Combat Scheme did not provide assistance and despite the declaration of an emergency in December, by the national government, aid was slow in arriving. Services provided included holding public bonfires to dispose of slaughtered rats and supplying individuals with rat poison and traps but it was simply not enough for this magnitude of an emergency. Most citizens were not even able to buy alternative food sources despite government subsidies. Several international aid organizations have taken it on themselves to step in and help administer services to citizens. Baptist World Alliance, World Vision, and Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) are a few of the agencies to provide both future preparation and crises relief. Help has come in the form of food aid to families, nutrition programs, activities designed to support economic development, distribution of seeds, and ‘cash for work’ programs which provide payment to those participating in project implementation. In addition, ADRA has been funded by the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid Office to implement a project worth $1,171,200 to work with the government in order to develop plans for future preparation and implantation. The results of this disaster remain to be seen. Without enough seed to plant farmers face continuing difficulty. Epidemics are likely to arise, and a result of the previous bamboo bloom was violent guerilla unrest in the area. This case shows the need for strong government preparation as well as implementation in events such as this one. With knowledge of the threat and the likelihood of its occurrences governments had time to prepare but lacked the urgency and perhaps resources to do so. In cases like this the international community continues to play a big role and with the continued stress on education of both the citizens and the government it is the aim of these organizations to prepare countries to provide for themselves in the future. Bibliography “Flowering Bamboo
Leads to Famine in McGill, Nadia.
“ADRA Bolsters Fight Against Hunger in North
East “One Million Face Famine After Rats Feast on Crops.” The Guardian. 23. Mar. 2008. 7 Oct. 2008. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/mar/23/india “Relief, Before
Start of Famine Caused by Rodents’ Appetite
in North |