By Sam Ball, NAIROBI Kenya
The UN early this
week, called for urgent action to avoid a major humanitarian crisis as billions
of locusts destroy crops across East Africa in the biggest outbreak the region
has seen in decades.
The locusts have plagued a number of countries since the start of the
year, including Somalia, Ethiopia, Yemen and Kenya, and crossed the border into
Uganda over the weekend. South Sudan and Tanzania could also soon be under
threat from the vast swarms.
“It's time for the
international community to understand that it's an issue that needs to be dealt
with now. Otherwise, it will turn into a situation of a plague,” said Dominique
Burgeon, director of the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation’s emergencies and
rehabilitation division.
“There will be
high levels of acute food insecurity, there will be millions more people that
will require food assistance and it will take us years to control the
situation."
An average locust
swarm of around 40 million insects can travel up to 150 km a day and consume
enough food in that time to feed 35,000 people.
The UN is seeking
$76 million in immediate aid from state donors to help fund spraying and other
eradication techniques. But so far, just $20 million has been made available.
No comments:
Post a Comment