AU, UN renew call for strong response to El Nino in Africa

The African Union (AU) and the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) on Thursday made a fresh appeal for humanitarian assistance towards African countries affected by El Nino.

Senior officials warned the El Nino phenomenon could have far-reaching negative impacts on millions of people Africa.

Aisha Laraba Abdullahi, AU Commissioner for Political Affairs, noted that El Nino is currently fuelling a grave humanitarian crisis in large parts of Africa hence the need for concerted efforts to combat it effectively.

"The consequences of El Nino phenomenon have resulted in successive droughts and floods that have affected countries in the horn and southern Africa region. These countries could experience distressing economic and social consequences," said Abdullahi.

She noted that countries affected by El Nino are grappling with depressed crop yield, death of livestock and public health risks.

"With the current effects of El Nino rains expected to continue through early 2016, it is envisaged that a dearth of rainfall will lead to poor harvests for some countries while heavy flooding will trigger epidemics in others," said Abdullahi

She warned that El Nino could fuel displacement and migration of populations alongside new conflicts in affected regions.

The horn of Africa region has borne the brunt of El Nino as evidenced by severe drought that has engulfed South Sudan, Sudan, Eritrea, Djibouti, northern Kenya and northeastern parts of Ethiopia.

Abdullahi revealed that in Ethiopia, the number of people affected by drought rose from 4 million in early 2015 to the current 10.2 million.

She appealed to governments and multilateral agencies to explore creative strategies that would boost communities' response to El Nino impacts.

"There is need to develop a concerted but diversified continental response to El Nino," Abdullahi remarked, adding that investments in disaster management and public awareness are key to minimize risks associated with El Nino.

Multilateral agencies have advised African countries affected by El Nino to focus on homegrown initiatives to tackle this crisis in the light of dwindling donor support.

Kyung Wha-Kang, UNOCHA Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator, regretted that donor fatigue could undermine humanitarian response to El Nino phenomenon in Africa.

"Dwindling funding from external donors is a huge bottleneck to provision of emergency assistance to communities affected by El Nino. We have appealed to donors to focus on more sustainable ways of financing humanitarian assistance," she told reporters. Enditem