We can’t pretend climate-related disasters like the one now affecting people in the Horn of Africa have nothing to do with us. | OPINION by MattWadeSMH
. If you have a median personal income in Australia, you’re comfortably in the world’s top 10 per cent of earners.The upshot? Most Australians are rich people living in a new age of hunger. We can’t just ignore those hit by the global food security crisis, like the malnourished children I encountered in Somaliland.
The good news is that the international humanitarian system has the capacity to respond to emergencies when sufficient funds are available. One veteran aid worker in Somalia told me that effective systems are in place to help those in need – all they require is adequate resources to get the work done.
Relatively simple interventions can make a big difference in a food crisis. One of the striking things about the malnutrition ward I visited in Burao was a chart on the wall summarising monthly patient statistics. While the number of children admitted with severe acute malnutrition has trebled since January 2022, there have been very few deaths. It shows that relatively simply treatments for malnourished children are highly effective in most cases.
“I believe our government should contribute at least $150 million, to show that this crisis really matters,” he says. “Planting our flag deep into the ground, once again, as a true humanitarian leader.” Australia must again be ready to do its part to combat hunger. If people as wealthy as us can’t help, who will?The Opinion newsletter is a weekly wrap of views that will challenge, champion and inform your own.
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