Imagine you have been sent as a Peace Corps volunteer to a poor African nation experienceing widespread hunger. Design a strategy for assesing the needs of the people and for contacting appropriate sources for help.
What sources and organizations would you contact? How would you go about evaluating what was needed, and what was feasable in terms of aid? What would be the priorities?
I need to see specifics (organizations, etc.). You need to do your research, see what has been/is being done in similiar situations, and how can you apply that information?
Responses are due no later than Thursday Feb. 5th @ 11:59 p.m.
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16 comments:
Ryan Ades And Spencer Kelly(Haven't recieved invite):
We would first evaluate what was needed. We would do this by taking population, looking at food sources, and noting the amount of these resources available. Thus evaluating the health of the citizens, how much they will need, and how much this will cost. When seeking aid in the form of food, we would contact the OECD(Organization For Economic Co-Operation And Development. We would discuss a feasable way to begin development on agriculture so the nation can slowly become self sufficient. We would also contact the world bank for micro-lending. Farmers would be able to use this money to begin to improve their crops, and pay back what they owe through the profit they make from their new crops. The peace corps. could provide temporary food supply, but our priorites would be in creating sustainable food sources. In a nutshell: Supply temporary food supplies through the peace corps., and use microlending to help start off local farmers and create sustainable food sources for everyone. Both these are feasable and fit a specific timeline we would create after assesment.
First the overall wellbeing of the country must be assessed. This information can be found with the help of the UNCTAD (The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development) which frequently produces reports on international trade and progress of poverty reduction in the Least Developed Countries. This would provide some groundwork and background information on the country. Then some reconnaissance work would have to be done in order to get an accurate representation of the conflict going on in the area (assuming that there is conflict, which there frequently is in areas of extreme poverty). This would require time spent living in the country and meeting people to see how they live and what they need, because too often money is thrown at less developed countries which only leads to a misappropriation of the money. The priorities would be food and water first, with healthcare in close second (first priority is always physical health before governmental reform can be considered). Then, if all goes as planned, a stable government can be encouraged. Misuse of power is often the root of the problem (e.g. the Democratic Republic of Congo and it's involvement in Africa's "World War"). It is a very slow process.
What is clutch right here is evaluation of where the problem doth stem from. The first thing I would do would be to analyze what was causing the famine. Regardless of the problem, the WFP (World Food Programme) would be a great asset in alleviating the famine so that progress can be made towards development of an agricultural system where famine is no longer a serious threat. UNICEF would also be helpful in helping with disease and other problems caused by the famine. Working together with these organizations, as well as the UN, I would work to get nourishment, medical treatment and agricultural improvement to the affected region.
First of all, to determine whether there was actually a famine in effect I would contact the World Health Organization and the World Food Program for support. I would determine where crops were being grown, and what crops were being grown. I would then see where the crops were being taken, and compare the amount of crops with the populations needs to determine if a famine was in effect. If a famine was in effect I would contact the U.N. Development Program immediately, and talk to various NGOs about aid. I would also contact UNICEF, and the Mercy Corps for medical aid to those suffering from the drought. I would also talk to various press offices to publicize the issue and bring aid and attention. I would then work with a team of scientists from the UN Committee to Combat Desertification to discover whether the cause of the famine was the incursion of desert. If it was, then we could start work on public projects utilizing the people of the African country to create public irrigation systems. If the cause of the famine was not desertification or drought, and was caused by poor Government management of resources, I would ask for help from the World Food Program in teaching sustainable farming methods and the management of natural resources. That's pretty much it.
I too would first contact the World Health Organization (similar to Dave Keiter), but I would also look for support from aganecies specifically working in Africa. It is important to understand the fundamental problem that is causing the hunger and poverty. I would contact an organization called the African Development Foundation (ADF) which is one of the few, if not the only U.S. based relief agency purely focusing its efforts on Africa. This organization would be able to asses the issues surrounding the poverty and may provide aid in the form of material goods and/or advice as to how to combat the famine. The ADF has been able to economically and industrially benefit Niger, Senegal, and Rwanda through its attempts to combat poverty. I would also contact the ACDI-VOCA, which is an international organization that focuses specifically on working with the developing regions of Africa to promote greater sustainability and prevent social/health problems.
My primary concern would be the water supply and then I would look to providing food aid for countries as we helped to develop their agriculure sustainably. It is necessary to give some sort of food resource to the region during this process, or more citizens would parish from famine. I think this plan would be economically feasible the focus on sustainability would help Africa to improve its living conditions as well as fight famine in the future.
First an evaluation would need to be done, the World Health Organization would be helpful during this process. During this assessment I would be looking for the root cause of the problem, and if that root was agriculture/food shortage then I would contact the OECD(Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development). I would contact the press to spread the fact that there is a pressing problem which would hopefully bring it to the attention of other people willing to help. I would then work to find the cause of the food shortage or why their agriculture is failing and work with the African Development Foundation to improve it enough to the point where they would be able to sustain themselves. At that level of improvement I would then work with the World Food Program to do the same thing in other places with similar problems.
It all leads back to the age old saying you feed a man a day by giving him a fish but you feed him for a lifetime if you teach him how to fish. A lot of organizations are just shipping in reserve food. That's ok for the short run but along with doing that we need to think about how we can make this nation sustainable in the long run so it doesn't have to depend on others. real and lasting change can only be achieved by enabling and empowering local people - so that they have the tools, the training, and the necessary supports to break the cycle of famine and need.There are some simple and effective innovations to farming, managing natural resources and helping people access basic services like clean water, health care and education. Self help Africa tells of some things that need to be achieved for this to happen
• achieve food security through increased production of and access to food
• develop diverse and sustainable livelihoods for greater economic security
• Improve access to basic services
• advocate for basic rights and better services by sharing experience through effective networks working at local, national and international levels
But how much do people in our world really care about the hungry? people choose to see what they want, but if they were forced to see it on a broader media level some charity foundations could receive money in a more public form, making sure it goes to the FAO or researched religious organizations that donate all the money they bring in. countries can't be helped unless we really want to make a change ourselves or they will forever be a midway developed country or just forgotten.
"Progress is possible, if the political will is there."
As many of the other commentors have said, a full evaluation of the country's population, food supply, education, and health issues in order to find out what the nation needs now to survive. Concerning the country's food supply, as Kelsey said before, just sending a certain amount of food isn't enough. The people need to learn how to sustain their own agricultural system that will feed the population and get them a profit. The FAO would be a good organization to work with to start a stable agricultural education pogram.
To achieve agricultural sustainability, I think innovation in agricultural machinery is really important. The ERI program (Enabling Rural Innovation) as part of the CIAT would really help people in Africa to learn about new innovations that would help with their agricultural demands.
Another very important factor is health innovation. The population and its health depends on family-planning agencies and health care locations. USAID is an important organization that works to bring maternal, HIV/AIDS, child, and reproductive health care to countries in Africa.
The Peace Corps would also be important in order to keep sustainable programs running.
Lastly as Cody said, the press and global community has to be informed on not only the current situation in Africa, but also on how they could help the organizations working there.
-The African Development Foundation (ADF) Established by the US Congress. It basically helps development in the sub-Saharan Africa by funding different projects.
- African Medical and Research Foundation (AMREF) works with location communities, government and donors to improve health care in African thought delivery, traning and research.
Aside from organizations that specify in helping the actual food shortage with different projects, its also important that the country is taught how to maintain a food source. Going back to the overpopulation chapter, we learned that helping the situation right hen helps but teaching and providing education will help the most.
The first priority would be to assess how much food is being produced in the country, and where it is going. If there is food in the country that is being misused, then the problem will likely be out of the hands of any charitable organization. A hostile government would make the famine nigh-impossible to solve, so it would be pointless to proceed if such a government was in place. However, should the local governing power abide foreign aid, then the initial action taken by charities such as Mercy Corps would be to help provide the foundation for a self-sufficient society to develop. The current famine will only continue if the society doesn't become more self-sufficient, so it is imperative that charities such as ActionAid help the country with things like education or technology, rather than just providing instant aid in the form of food. More lives could be saved if the country was made self-sufficient quickly rather than just importing food into the region to provide for the current populace. The famine will not go away if something is not changed. Quite simply, the goal of organizations such as Oxfam or Mercy Corps should not change to address the famine, because the famine is just another symptom of a much larger problem.
To do list:
1) Talk to actual people, both on the poor side and the not-so-poor side (this is Africa we're talking about), to find out what has been happening, in their opinions, and why their once beautiful country has gone downhill so far. I'd gather information as to what the locals are used to eating and what they can get/make for themselves.
2) I would contact the IEHA (Presidential Initiative to End Hunger in Africa), to see what kind of progress the area I'm going to has reached so far, and from the same organization I'd get info on what current agricultural developments I could assist with.
3) To help address the problems creating hunger in the first place, I'd also contact The Comprehensive Africa Agricultural Development Program (CAADP), which I think I'd be most able to help with, as it deals with integrating vulnerable African societies and mainstream agricultural techniques, which I'm a little more familiar with.
4) Now that I'm armed with the info of what needs to be done and what's been done so far, I'd go back to the people I mentioned i step one and use the knowledge I gained from the organizations to help mobilize and motivate and support my fellow peoples in Africa.
5) Success! Hunger decimated.
6) Rattlesnake Rave
I would find out how much resources the nation is producing. I would do a census to find out how many people are in the country, and then find out how many people (roughly) are in need of resources. For those that are producing food, I would contact UNICEF or the ERI to donate money to these farmers. That way, they could expand. They would also be educated in new methods of sustainability. For the short term problem, there's not much you can do but provide them with food. The main priority would be thinking about the long term sustainability. Until there is a stable income into the nation, poverty will still be a problem and in turn so will hunger. Expanding farm land, or educating people on new farming techniques can only go so far. A sound government with trade, and democratic methods is needed to obtain a prosperous nation. A
In order to remedy the widespread hunger problem, I would first try and find the cause of it. Most likely it would be an agricultural problem. In this case, I would contact the Sygenta Foundation for Sustainable Agriculture (SFSA) and the African Development Foundation (ADF) and hopefully with the groups combined knowledge they could slowly introduce a more sustainable agricultural system. In the case where sustainable agriculture was not the only major issue I would contact USAID. The problem with providing food directly to the hunger sufferers is that it is only a temporary fix for an ongoing problem. If improving agricultural sustainability was a potential option for the country in need I would make that my first priority. Hopefully with sustainable practices, the African nation would no longer need aid from other countries and thrive on their own.
As many people have said, the first important step is to accomplish a full assessment of the situation and develop a plan for what needs to be done based on that assessment. I would seek the aid of the World Health Organization or the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations in order to complete such an assessment. Once it became clear where the problem lay I would begin forming a plan as to how to develop a sustainable system in the country. The first step would be some immediate relief, to both get the people working with me and help delay any imminent death there may be. Immediate relief could be found from any number of organizations that are eager to help such as Freedom from Hunger, Food for All, Action against Hunger, or the Foods Resource Bank. Big organizations such as Mercy Corps could also be contacted. Then it would become important to start an education and development process to help the people solve whatever issue they may be having with growing food and learn how to farm and eat sustainably. A cycle of food and waste could be the most effective method of ensuring that whatever system I was able to put in place to serve the people's needs remained intact and functioning. Governmental reform would also become important at a later stage, but the first priority would certainly be to implement a system that works for the people.
Initially I would take into full account everything that is going on in the area. UNICEF and just the United Nations in general would both be adequate organizations to help with preventing the famine. One thing I would stress in the process though is the overall well being of the environment. There could be other issues involving the country. How to deal with those other issues such a civil war and such I am not really sure but certainly you would have to take that into account or all you had worked for could be lost. Also whatever changes I would have made would have to be on a long term scale. You would have to continue to return to the environment to evaluate it every 4 months or so.
As many people have pointed out the first priority would be to find out, specifically, what your given nation’s situation called for. The basic questions covered in my initial assessment would be how much immediate aid, in terms of food and water supply is needed in order to keep the famine from getting worse, as well as where, in the country, it would be best to instigate new agricultural practices (this is assuming that the modern techniques would gradually catch on and be used throughout the entire country, thus making it more self-sufficient and sustainable as a whole). It would be wise to assess the short term needs (ie: providing the hungry with food and clean water asap) quickly, so as to get started on the region(s) of the country that are in more dire straights than others. Though I would consider agricultural education/the teaching of new techniques a top-priority, I also understand that things cannot be done over night. A country can’t just automatically become self-sufficient- it’s a gradual process that requires patience from both the developed and developing countries. Still a large amount of aid would be needed to curb the immediate demand for food and water. Funding would need to come from developed countries, aid organizations and even private donors if enough people become aware of the problem and are willing to help. I would contact several organizations including the World Health Organization, the World Food Program, the African Development Foundation, the Food and Agriculture Organization, and the United Nations Development Program and USAID; these groups would assist in the evaluation of the root cause of the country’s famine/poverty, provide a feasible amount of immediate aid and would help plan for long-term sustainability by advising the Peace Corps on the steps that should be taken in order to make the transition to self-sufficiency run smoother than one would otherwise anticipate.
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