Introduction
Children from four countries in and near Africa (Somalia, Nigeria, Yemen, and South Sudan in particular) are trying to survive humanitarian crises caused by military action. There are 20 million children under the age of 5 who may die from famine in these nations. The following memorandum requests humanitarian assistance to help these starving populations.
Memorandum
Facts of the Crisis and Humanitarian Needs
The nations of Somalia, Yemen, Nigeria, and South Sudan are currently facing famine. This humanitarian crisis is believed to be one of the largest since World War II. At the present, about 20 million people are in critical need of food supplies (BBC News, 2017). Without it, these countries’ populations (especially children under the age of 5) may die from lack of food. One person is dying every 10 minutes in Yemen, which will have an adverse impact on the future of that country’s people. The main humanitarian needs of the citizens include fresh and nutritious food, clean and filtered water, medical supplies, and appropriate housing (Dufour, Laporte, Paquette, & Rancourt, 2018).
Humanitarian Response
Unfortunately, not much humanitarian aid has been provided by neighboring developed countries. For instance, the government of Saudi Arabia canceled all plans to provide supplies to Yemen because of the armed conflict there and unsuitable conditions for aid delivery, including ruined roads and a lack of help from the country’s government. However, it did host two humanitarian aid ships in its port with food and medications. The situation in other starving countries is even worse at the moment. Despite the fact that the United Nations is trying to help people in South Sudan, the state’s president is blocking aid deliveries to his people (Wintour, 2017). Unfortunately, the majority of humanitarian convoys to the country are destroyed or seized by the government, which does not distribute the supplies to individuals in need. In Nigeria, Boko Haram attacks limit the UN’s provision of aid, whereas al-Shabab terrorists in Somalia are preventing the distribution of assistance from international organizations (Horst & Nur, 2016).
Unmet Needs and Next Steps
Unfortunately, the needs discussed above (lack of food, medication, housing, and clean water) are still not met and people continue to suffer and die because of famine. Moreover, the majority of politicians in these starving countries are corrupt and do not deliver all the medical supplies received to people in hospitals (Patel & Wild, 2018). The following steps are required to help these people dying in and near Africa:
- Independent workers should be sent to Yemen, Somalia, Nigeria, and South Sudan to oversee humanitarian aid deliveries directly to people in need (OCHA, 2018).
- Water filters should be provided to citizens, as other water sources are polluted.
- As many children and adults requiring medical assistance as possible should be evacuated.
- People should be allowed to emigrate to less dangerous regions where they can receive help without any limitations.
The best way to resolve the needs of people in these countries is to make the local government’s control less significant in these areas.
Conclusion
A lack of fuel and other poor conditions for transportation in impoverished countries that are currently facing both famine and military conflict limit the possibilities for providing humanitarian aid. The common people suffer and die because of hunger, while politicians have access to any necessary supplies. Humanitarian aid to Somalia, Yemen, South Sudan, and Nigeria has to be overseen by independent people who will allocate the resources among the starving populations equally. Otherwise, the people are unlikely to benefit from the assistance provided by developed nations.
References
BBC News. (2017). Yemen conflict: How bad is the humanitarian crisis? Web.
Dufour, E., Laporte, G., Paquette, J., & Rancourt, M. (2018). Logistics service network design for humanitarian response in East Africa. Omega, 74(1), 1-14. Web.
Horst, C., & Nur, A. I. (2016). Governing mobility through humanitarianism in Somalia: Compromising protection for the sake of return. Development and Change, 47(3), 542-562. Web.
OCHA. (2018). Nigeria: US$1.05B needed to reach 6.1 million people in 2018. Web.
Patel, R. B., & Wild, H. B. (2018). To do no harm: Humanitarian aid in conflict demands political engagement. Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, 1(1), 1-2. Web.
Wintour, P. (2017). Saudi Arabia still barring aid to Yemen despite pledge to lift siege. Web.