Somalia famine appeal raises far less than previous disasters

UK donations are lower for east Africa crisis than for Asian tsunami or Haiti earthquake, despite it affecting more people British donations to tackle the drought crisis in east Africa are falling far short of previous appeals, figures released by the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) reveal. In the first weeks of the campaign, donations totalling £42m were received by the DEC. This is less than an eighth of the £396m raised after the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami and also far less than the £106m raised for the Haiti earthquake and £71m for Pakistan in more recent campaigns. The shortfall is made even worse by the huge numbers affected by the drought across Somalia, South Sudan, Ethiopia and Kenya. Estimates suggest at least 10 million people have been hit by food shortages – five times as many as were directly affected by the natural disasters in Pakistan, Haiti and south Asia. This means UK donations per person believed to be affected stand at just £4.20, compared with £58.89 for Haiti and £196 – 45 times higher – for the south Asian tsunami, which affected an estimated two million people. The DEC does not set targets for its campaigns, but said the first few weeks of donations were crucial and the absence of strong pictures from the disaster had hurt fundraising. “The majority of donations come in the first few weeks as people respond to media appeals,” said Kath Hindley, deputy chief executive of the DEC. “But it’s never a simple story. It’s difficult to compare a natural disaster such as Haiti with a drought in terms of both needs and messaging. “Visual images make so much difference – people respond very differently to an earthquake than a drought. The impact is not the same.” The situation has been exacerbated by the shortage of reporters on the ground, particularly in Somalia, to cover the crisis. Somalia has not had a stable government since 1991, leading to substantial logistical and safety challenges when reporting in the region. Reporters Without Borders describes Somalia as “the deadliest country in Africa for journalists”. Farah Hassan Sahal , 45, a presenter for Radio Simba, a Somali station, was shot dead last Friday outside the entrance to his workplace. The shortfall in British donations is mirrored across the world, as the UN struggles to raise the $2.5bn (£1.5bn) it says is needed to manage the crisis. As of last week, the UN had raised only $1.27bn in funding or pledges of the total sum needed. Somalia, estimated to need $1.06bn, had just $408m (38%) pledged, while Kenya had $357m (48%) of a $741m requirement. Ethiopia has received $148m for its humanitarian requirements, but just $22m to aid with its worsening refugee situation, less than 10% of what the UN believes is needed. The US is the largest state donor to the crisis so far, having pledged $398m. The UK is second with $111m, followed by the European commission ($92m) and Japan ($87m). Somalia Famine Disasters Emergency Committee Drought Africa Aid South Sudan Kenya Ethiopia James Ball guardian.co.uk

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