Nation Reporter
20 March 2006
Nairobi — An emergency fund to help fight hunger in the Horn of Africa will be set up if Heads of State adopt the proposal during a Summit in Nairobi today.
The Inter-Governmental Authority on Development (Igad) Council of Ministers proposed that the fund be set up as one way of finding a lasting solution to the disaster, during a meeting at Grand Regency Hotel on Saturday.
The proposal is to be presented to the leaders who include President Kibaki, Sudan's Omar El Bashir and Uganda's Yoweri Museveni, at the 11th Igad Summit of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government.
Also expected are Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti and Somali, leaders. The European Union, UN, AU, donors and envoys from have also been invited.
The Council chairman, Foreign Affairs minister Raphael Tuju said the fund would targets the involvement of private companies.
"Drought and famine continue to plaque this region. We acknowledge the assistance from our development partners, relief organisations and contributions from our own people...However the recurrent scourge calls for a comprehensive and durable solution," Mr Tuju said while officially closing the 25th Session of the Council.
Some 11 million people in Kenya, Ethiopia, Sudan, Somalia, Eritrea, Uganda and Djibouti are faced with serious food shortages due to the effects of drought and conflicts and Mr Tuju said the fund would target donors "who would like to deal with the region as a unit as opposed to individual countries."
The minister said the international community liked dealing with a fund and that if formed relief rations would be distributed across borders.
"We don't want boundaries to hinder relief efforts. We want the efforts to be people centred as opposed to country centred," Mr Tuju said and urged Igad member states to pursue sustainable development by utilising "the latest and relevant agricultural and farming technologies."
"This will go a long way into preserving the environment as well as enabling the countries in the region to achieve food security," he added.
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