Peace settlement for Somalia has top priority

(24.8.2011)  In the run-up to tomorrow’s summit meeting in Addis Ababa, Welthungerhilfe has invited the African Union to lay a proposal for a peace settlement for Somalia on the table. “After over 20 years of civil war in Somalia, it is time to negotiate a sustainable peace plan. It is essential to hold talks with all parties involved in the conflict, so that the refugees in Kenya and Ethiopia can return home as soon as possible. The current drought and famine in the Horn of Africa shows that the people only have a long-term chance to live self-determined lives if they are in their home country,” says Bärbel Dieckmann, president of Welthungerhilfe, in Addis Ababa.  

Welthungerhilfe also calls on the international donor community to honour its commitment and make the money promised for the drought victims available quickly. Short-term aid should also be linked with long-term investment in agriculture. Dieckmann stresses that, “The survival aid currently being provided is essential, but we must not lose sight of long-term food security. 80 per cent of the population in the Horn of Africa is dependent on agriculture and that is the key to creating food security.”