Thursday 30 March 2017

Hundreds of thousands of children in East Africa risk dying of hunger




The lives of over 700,000 children in South Sudan, Somalia and Kenya are in danger bearing the fact that drought has become a national crisis in these nations. 

According to humanitarian organization World Vision the lives of these children are now hanging in the balance because they suffer from acute malnutrition.

“Children are already dying in South Sudan and Somalia, many more are on the brink in northern Kenya and parts of Ethiopia. We cannot wait any longer, “warns Christopher Hoffman, World Vision’s Director of Humanitarian Response in East Africa.

Mr. Hoffman said that the affected countries must get lessons from the famine of 2011 that killed about 260,000 people.

“We must act now and act fast to save lives. The situation in Somalia is deteriorating quickly as well, with acute levels of food insecurity increasing each day ,” he continued.

The United Nations UN has described the current hunger crisis affecting South Sudan, Somalia, Yemen and Nigeria as the largest humanitarian crisis since 1945. 

Northern Bahr El Gazhel in South Sudan is sliding into catastrophic levels of hunger, with it fast approaching famine levels, while malnutrition is spiking in Turkana where nearly 55 per cent of children under 5 years are suffering from severe acute malnutrition. 

Stephen O’Brien, UN Under Secretary-General for humanitarian affairs, told the Security Council recently that “Without collective and coordinated efforts people will simply starve to death and many more will suffer and die from disease.” 

During his recent visit to Kenya, UN Secretary General Antonio Gueterres said that drought  had  had a devastating impact in the economy and in the lives of the Somalis. 

“And in these tragic circumstances, there has been rapid spread of diarrhoea and cholera killing people, making people suffer enormously, with a clear need of support from the international community,” Mr. Gueterres stated.

The Government has since declared the current drought affecting 23 arid and semi-arid counties and pockets of other areas a national disaster.

President Kenyatta during the announcement called on all stakeholders to support the Government by upscaling drought mitigation programmes.

The President also called on the local and international partners to come in and support the Government’s efforts to contain the situation which has not only affected human beings and livestock but also the wild animals.

“Support from our partners would complement Government efforts in mitigating the effects of drought,” said the President.

Monday 20 March 2017

The Cursed Blessing of Slum Tourism



Nairobi, KENYA: Slums of Nairobi are infamously known for their high occurrences of violence, crippling poverty, high mortality rates among many other social evils in the society.

However, the sprawling slums of Kibera are receiving more foreign attention not from humanitarian donors, but a new crop of tourists tired of sleeping by the pool side and would rather see what it's like to live in slums.

This is a game changer since visitors are opting for unorthodox places to spend time with their loved ones or even some lone moments during holidays in the shanties.

Though it's not their fault, slum dwellers are still far from a sustainable future; however they have tapped into this new booming tourism business termed as “poorism”.

This comes as no surprise as Rockefeller Foundation’s 100 Resilient Cities named unemployment as one of the challenges Nairobi faces.

“Yes, I am a slum tourism operator. For every visitor I charge sh.500 which is an equivalent of $5. Tourists who visit Kibera say that people here live like animals. They love taking pictures of the pipes that leak raw sewage and the dilapidated houses,” Violet Muge told Baraka FM.
Beatrice Mutia another tour operator in Kibera, told Baraka FM that she was at first shocked when she was asked to take foreign visitors for a walk in the shanties.

Ms. Mutia who also charges sh.500 per visitor said that tourists were often fascinated with how poor people survived.

“Some want to know how the people eat over here. They want to know how many meals they can afford in a day. Some tourists have suggested that this place should be upgraded because the living conditions here are unbearable,” Ms. Mutia notes.

They both agreed that the tourists never brought in any development projects that would save the people living in shanties from the claws of poverty.

Mixed fortunes of poverty tourism
Slum tourism which has also been referred to as poverty tourism or even “poorism” has continued to receive polarized emotions.

“There are those who feel it is important to see how individuals are coping and living in the slums. I think if it is brought in the purposes of improving livelihoods and improving opportunities of slum dwellers then I would support slum tourism,” Prof. Judy Wakhungu, Head of the Kenyan Delegation, told Baraka FM, at the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III) in Quito, Ecuador.

Prof. Wakhungu added that,” This form of tourism should open up education opportunities for those running cottage industries. Tourists can become buyers of the supplies shanty residents make.”

100 Resilient Cities during the Habitat III, told Baraka FM at the Casa de la Cultura Ecuatoriana, that slum tourism could be beneficial if it took a participatory approach.
“If this should happen then input should be obtained from the people who will say what they need and expect when they get visited,” Maxwell Young, the Global Vice President Marketing and Communication of 100 Resilient Cities, remarked.

Ironic enough, the slum tour operators however, did not seem to favour this type of tourism saying that despite the fact that taking foreigners for a walk in the settlements brought them some cash, it was not a sustainable way to earn a living. 

“We are in the low season I have no clients. I receive only 80 visitors in a year just like my counterpart Ms. Mutia. If there were other alternative means of getting my daily bread I would quickly jump to that. Moreover, poverty tourism belittles the slum dwellers when foreigners visit the country just to take pictures of other people’s misery. People in Kibera are humans they should be treated with dignity,” Ms. Muge remarked.

Mr. Young also had similar sentiments about slum tourism.

Mr. Young said,” It is not right however when a tourist company comes in and just takes people around the informal settlements; it could be like a zoo. It could be dehumanizing. Sadly this happens all over the world. It happens in New York, Latin America and Africa. It basically happens anywhere where there is a big disparity between the rich and the poor.”
Prof. Wakhungu also expressed dismay about slum tourism in Kenya where some communities obtain a raw deal from this type of business.

“Poverty tourism has also had some negative impact in Kenya. We have had visitors who have come to observe the way people live but they have had encounters whereby slum dwellers felt cheated,” she observed.

Mr. Young added that this type of tourism slum tourism could increase the cases of sex work in an informal settlement. 

Slum tourism in Brazilian Capital Rio de Janeiro

According to Mr. Young the concept of “poorism” in Rio de Janeiro started in the 1980’s.

“Often it would be done without the consent of the residents dwelling in the informal settlements. You have tour companies cruising tourists in 4×4 vehicles or motorcycles to take them to see the most heartbreaking parts of the community and no money is spent on the community,” Mr. Young stated.

This trend has however shifted after as time went by.

“Although in the recent years in Rio de Janeiro, there has been this movement to involve the people in the informal settlements in this type of tourism. It becomes more educational where people can learn about the underlying conditions that lead to informal settlements and what can be done to address some of the deficiencies,” Mr. Young said.

The New Urban Agenda

According to the United Nations UN the New Urban Agenda involves embracing urbanization at all levels of human settlements and formulation of more appropriate policies that can embrace urbanization.

It also entails participation and involvement of urban dwellers and integrating equity to the development agenda, in line with the Sustainable Development Goals SDGs which insist on leaving no one behind.

Further in May 2016 Nairobi was announced as one of the 100 resilient cities in the globe.
However poverty tourism could be an impediment to Nairobi’s newly attained status of being resilient and achieving the New Urban Agenda.

“There needs to be real partnerships between the people and operators. If income stays in the communities and a solid partnership exists then both parties will be satisfied. If this is done with the permission of community groups it could lead to people becoming more aware and this could lead to better services and planning in the long run. There can be real trouble when someone becomes wealthy making more money off the poverty of others with no benefits to those who live in informal settlements. Obviously, anything that keeps populations in poverty, negatively affects resilience of a city,” Mr. Young noted.

“City leaders should embrace the New Urban Agenda. If we get the towns and cities right we will be closer to achieving all SDGs by which we can make our cities more prosperous and resilient,” Secretary General for the UN Ban Ki Moon said, at a press briefing, during the Habitat III. 

 “There is a lot that needs to be done better. The city leaders are saying that they need better policies and capacity. We assure you that we will give you the best support that we can. We would like to create platforms with you and create avenues of dialogue that bring on board everybody so that we can tap into available resources. In this way we can change everybody’s attitude,” remarked Dr. Aisa Kacyira, the Assistant Secretary General, UN Habitat.

Hopefully with such engagements, emerging issues arising from “poorism” can be addressed to ensure no one is injured, socially or economically, as the world seeks to achieve the post 2015 development agenda targets.

According to the UN 54 per cent of the world’s population already lives in urban areas, with a third residing in slums and this figure is due to increase to 66 per cent by 2050, where the largest increase is projected in Africa.

“In order to eradicate poverty and have a world without slums, we now bring the New Urban Agenda. This will help to plan for urbanization as people keep migrating to towns and cities. We need to utilize this political commitment, and turn into reality a situation whereby there are no shanties,” Dr. Kacyira concluded.






Humans do not destroy your only home, conservationists advice





 A new report by World Wide Fund for Nature WWF, Living Planet Report 2016 , has revealed that about two thirds of wildlife globally could decline by 2020, within 50 years.

According to the report from 1970-2012 there was a 58 per cent decline in vertebrate population sizes.

WWF has attributed this to unsustainable use of natural resources by humans.

“Scientific evidence shows that we are surpassing the boundaries of what the planet can cope with. There also has been evidence of wasteful use of natural resources,” said Fred Kwame Africa Regional Director, WWF Africa during the release of the report in Kenya.

Excessive exploitation of forests and water bodies can adversely affect the natural habitat of wild animals and marine life.

Pollution on the other hand affects the well-being of bio diversity on the planet.

Living Planet Report 2016 states that increased human pressure threatens the natural resources that human depends upon, increasing the risk of water and food insecurity and competition over natural resources.

Sustainable consumption

Speaking in Nairobi, Kwame called for wise consumption in order to ensure a balance of the ecosystem.

“This is crosscutting at every level; at the individual, corporate, and individual level. Our lifestyles need to change. What we consume matters. What you wear what you eat has to be produced by someone. What you drive has to be fuelled. And all that adds up when it comes to environment conservation. The little choices we make at an individual level can make a difference,” he advised.

Kwame added that in the corporate world consumption should be managed where wastes and loss are better handled.

Kwame reiterated that such decisions looked simple but they always contribute in creating a balance for the world.

“If we produce better, if we consume better, and we preserve the natural capital that we have, we will reap the dividends. We will have a world where the ecosystem is intact and continues to provide environmental services to all us,” he remarked.

“We will have a world where food, water and energy security will be sustained as all these things are interlinked. We only have one world and we should stand up and speak up because this is an issue that concerns all of us.”

The report also shows that food production systems are putting major pressure on the ecosystem.

“We need to shift to agricultural methods that focus on yield optimization,” said Jared Bosire, Conservation Director for WWF, during the launch of Living Planet Report 2016.

Sustainable Development Goal SDG 12 calls for sustainable consumption and production patterns.


Development as expense of environment conservation

Meanwhile WWF has explained importance of development projects adding that they should not be at the cost disturbing the ecosystem.

“The Standard Gauge Railway SGR should not pass through the Nairobi National Park as it interferes with the wildlife’s way of life. This affects wildlife corridors making it difficult for animals to move freely. This might cause animals to trespass into human settlements and this is dangerous,” Bosire remarked.

 Bosire suggested that although costly, the government could opt for an alternative route for the SGR.

“Kenya has a treasure that no other country possesses; a national park within a capital city. Nature can be unforgiving. Building a railway line inside Nairobi National Park could cause environmental degradation,” concluded Kwame.