More than 1 million African drought victims saved through international efforts, OEOA says.

More than 1 million African drought victims saved through international efforts, OEOA says

More than a million people throughout Africa would have perished had it not been for the massive international relief effort launched in December 1984, the Office for Emergency Operations in Africa (OEOA) reported in September.

The "partnership between the drought-stricken countries and the international community' helped stave off what would have been an "unprecedented peace-time disaster', the Office stated in its monthly report on the African crisis.

In spite of relief efforts and increased rain throughout drought-stricken areas of Africa, the situation in some countries is still critical, the OEOA warned. "One good rainy season can hardly be expected to undo the damage of several years of drought', the report stated. Lesotho was cited as an example of how the mere return of the rains did not necessarily signify the end of the crisis. Earlier forecasts for that country's harvest were about 15 per cent higher than was likely to be the case.

Eleven African countries--Angola, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Chad, Ethiopia, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Niger and Sudan-- received near or above-average rainfall in the last two months, and people have begun planting. Six other countries--Burundi, Lesotho, Rwanda, Senegal, Somalia and Tanzania--will need to import food commercially, but they might not need emergency food assistance, according to the report. Also, Zimbabwe had a bumper harvest and Kenya and Zambia are not expected to seek emergency food aid.

However, most of these countries were not expected to produce enough food for their own needs, due to a shortage of seeds and agricultural tools and poor soil conditions brought on by drought. These countries' agricultural sectors had received scant funding from donors, the OEOA stated. Yet donor response has been strong in the logistics and transport sectors, with pledges of nearly $200 million.

Recent rains, the report concluded, "have not solved long-standing problems. They have provided new hope. In order not to dash these hopes for a better future, intensive international efforts for relief and recovery must continue.'

At a press conference on 25 September, Djibril Diallo, Chief of Information for the OEOA, reported on his recent visit to Botswana, Mozambique and Sudan. Botswana, he said, was "a success story' due to several factors: excellent machinery to deal with drought; a good early warning system, both for drought monitoring and crop forecasting; a comprehensive drought relief package, including supplementary feeding, water and agricultural relief measures, and labour-based relief for those lacking resources. Botswana's Government was concerned that it might be penalized by the international community for having brought the drought under control.

In Mozambique, Mr. Diallo said, discussions were dominated by the prospect of destabilization by armed bandits. In one province, 15,000 people had been displaced, most because of armed insurrection. Logistics and transportation were big problems. Three thousand tons of supplies were sitting in warehouses without means of transportation.

In Sudan, Mr. Diallo said, there was optimism, because of the rains, but there was no cause for relaxation of relief efforts.

Photo: Djibril Diallo