The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation has in the
past fortnight received some $18 million to fund the fight against the
desert locust invasion currently devastating the region. This brings the
total amount of donations to $40 million over the past couple of
months.
FAO had appealed for $76
million, needed by March, to fully control the locust invasion. However,
the UN agency said it will still take almost $138 million for rapid
response and anticipatory action in eight countries on the continent
FAO
director-general Qu Dongyu, while addressing donors in New York warned
that the locust invasion could trigger a humanitarian crisis. He said
FAO had so far received around $22 million of the $76 million requested
to assist the five countries initially impacted. But he expected needs
to increase amid concern that the outbreak will continue to spread to
other countries.
“It is clear that
already vulnerable populations could easily be pushed into a major
humanitarian crisis unless we act fast to protect their livelihoods,” a
FAO circular quoted Mr Qu.
On Monday, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation committed $10 million.
“The
foundation’s support is intended to help FAO and national governments
confront the critical need for rapid control of the infestation,
including aerial control of large swarms,” said a press release by the
Foundation.
Earlier, the Unites States Agency for
International Development (USAid) announced that it would provide $8
million to be used in efforts in Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia — the
countries most affected.
Other
countries and organisations that have donated towards the crisis include
the EU, Germany, Belgium, Sweden, Denmark, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,
Switzerland, and the UN Central Emergency Response Fund for their aid
contributions. The money will be channelled through FAO to support its
work with the respective governments.
“Every
effort must be made to ensure the current upsurge does not become a
fully-fledged plague,” said FAO in an ongoing international appeal it
posted on its website for funds.
FAO
said it had already mobilised $3 million from its own resources to step
up control operations. This is on top of some $10 million it reported as
having been released by the UN Central Emergency Response Fund to
support a rapid scale-up of control operations in January, aimed at
containing the spread of Desert Locust swarms in East Africa.
But
efforts to spray some more than 100,000 hectares of land in the region,
have seemingly fallen short of containing the problem thus far as
experts report new hatchlings — pink in colour, across the region. The
older insects are yellow.
“The laid
eggs have now begun to hatch in parts of the country and this will
continue for some time,” said Mehari Tesfayohannes of the Desert Locust
Control Organisation for Eastern Africa in a phone interview on
Thursday. “Eggs will continue to hatch intermittently all through to
April.”
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