Horn of Africa food crisis could last into summer 2012, E.U. Aid Commissioner says

"The crisis in the Horn of Africa, which has left more than 13 million people at risk of starvation, will continue into the spring, and possibly the summer," European Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva said Tuesday, Reuters reports (Batha, 12/6). She "said investing in the Sahel now was not just the ethically and morally right thing to do, but would be less expensive than waiting for disaster to strike, as was the case in Somalia," the Guardian writes, adding, "Seven million people are already facing shortages in Niger, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Nigeria and Burkina Faso, with major shortfalls in food production in many areas. The figures point to a massive problem of food availability next year, according to the European commission" (Tran, 12/7).

"Georgieva said the famine showed governments and donors must do more to prevent droughts becoming full-blown humanitarian crises," according to Reuters. "'The Horn of Africa drought ... is a wake-up call on how much more we need to do to anticipate and prevent droughts turning into killers. We cannot stop droughts but we can stop famines,' she said," the news agency writes (12/6).