Mogadishu, Somalia
MR. BASHIR MOHAMUD: Thank you so much for the interview acceptance. My first question is detailed as your objective of coming to Somalia.
ADMINISTRATOR POWER: I've come to Somalia because the country and its people are facing an unprecedented food crisis that risks becoming a catastrophe. And Somalia has had its share of challenges when it comes to food security in the past, it has experienced many, many droughts, of course through its history. The people are used to these cycles. But what makes this different is really just how long it is extending, having four straight failed rainy seasons really is unprecedented. From what we can tell, there's a risk now that the fifth as well will be a failed rainy season. And we are already seeing the consequences for livelihoods, for example, with livestock just wiped out, 3 million livestock already gone in this crisis. We are seeing the consequences in livelihoods because of the destruction of livelihoods, but also failed farm yields and so forth.
And as if all of this wasn't enough, the fact that Vladimir Putin then decided to invade Ukraine for no reason, brutally inflicting pain and destruction on the people of Ukraine, but also effectively blockading Ukraine’s ports, which would normally be exporting around half of Somalia’s wheat. So that too, is driving up food prices for humanitarian aid organizations, as well as for people in the market. So with all of this kind of set of elements coming together this perfect storm of difficulty, I wanted to come to hear from the President, from Somali citizens that I was able to talk to, some in the private sector, some who work in the humanitarian space, and then also from the big humanitarian organizations, what more should the United States be doing?
I also wanted to meet people from other countries. Because to be honest, right now while the United States is making very substantial contributions, including today, where I announced an additional nearly $500 million in new humanitarian and development assistance, that's incredibly important. I'm really proud actually to work at USAID at a time like this, to be able to bring such support to the Somali people who I have such affection for, but the countries that in the past have joined us in making substantial contributions, so far have been a little bit on the sidelines. Partly, their own budgets are stretched by inflation, by the war in Ukraine, by other humanitarian needs across Africa. But this is a time like no other time in our memory. And so I wanted to come and be in a position then also to try to galvanize my colleagues who work for other governments to get them to deliver more for Somalia.
MR. MOHAMUD: The U.S. has donated 1.2 billion in the Horn of Africa. Where will the U.S. be using this money?
ADMINISTRATOR POWER: Well, I think it's a combination, first of all, I know it's a great frustration for certainly great frustration for me, and I suspect it's a great frustration for the Somali people, that the international community comes in with all of these resources for humanitarian assistance in the emergency, and there's gratitude for that, but a frustration that those resources couldn't be deployed in longer term development projects. But we of course don't have unlimited resources and we want to keep people alive and prevent families from experiencing the ultimate tragedy of losing loved ones, which is really at great risk of happening here. So the resources that I announced today are a combination of mainly humanitarian assistance, but then an additional $15 million on top of our normal programming, to try to build more food security. So getting drought resistant seeds to farmers, making sure that they have the techniques not to be wasting food, because there's a lot of food waste. Fertilizers are incredibly expensive right now. Making sure that they have the latest knowledge about how to use fertilizer in a way that targets it where it is the most efficient, because there's a ton of fertilizer waste as well. So again, we have to get through this crisis. But we also have to recognize that this crisis is not going to be the last food crisis, quite the contrary with climate change. And so these investments, I think, made by us, made also by the World Bank and other large international actors in the longer term development of the country, it's really important.
MR. MOHAMUD: What are the urgent priorities of USAID in this year?
ADMINISTRATOR POWER: Well, I would start with food. And very specifically, we have just recently announced, separate from the funding that I have brought here, this to Somalia, funding of so called ready to use therapeutic food. You know, there are so many young people now, more than a million very young children in this country, who are suffering acute malnutrition. And these little packets of food, and some of the people who are listening, maybe have even had the chance to, to provide some of this to a loved one. I mean, it really brings about incredible recovery. But, mobilizing resources to buy enough of those to keep up with the need here, I mean, already, in our meetings with UNICEF, we learned that 40,000 kids a month need this ready to use therapeutic food. And so we need to make sure that if those numbers increase, that there is enough of this food to go around. I would also add that not every mother can afford to bring their child into a clinic, not every mother lives within reach of a clinic. So making sure, and this is something again, we have to do with the government, but making sure that community health workers are out and about and that they are going and doing the measurement of the child to know who needs this ready to use therapeutic food. So starting with food, and then of course, food baskets for families who may have lost all their livestock, don't have any way to make an income, getting them through this crisis until they can begin to think about what comes next for them. That's where it starts.
But food crises’ very rarely are only about hunger. What tends to happen when you have food crises is you have mass displacement, which we're already seeing. You have, for example, people, and it's usually women and girls who are walking further to go and try to find water. What happens then is they become at greater and greater risk of sexual violence. And so we need to fund protection programs and services, we need to make sure that we don't lose track of the incredibly important childhood immunization programs like the measles immunizations. Because again, as the risk of famine occupies everyone and focuses the mind on people who need food and need nutrition, it can divert resources then away from other health programming, other again, programming to support women and girls. And then the last thing I'd say, and I know, it sounds like I don't have any single priority, because I think you can't really, it's like choosing among your children, you can't focus on food and not focus on health. But so too, it would really be short-sighted if we are only bringing an emergency mindset. That's our priority, for sure. But at the same time, we need to be building resilience among communities that are at the mercy of the weather patterns. And I think the United States has a special responsibility there because we have historically been a very, very large emitter of carbon, we have contributed to the climate emergency that so many countries are facing. And I hope that other countries that have contributed and that are, will contribute even more as their populations expand, we'll do more to support a country like Somalia that have contributed almost nothing to the atmosphere, in terms of causing climate change, but now is really at the epicenter of having to bear the brunt of the horrific conditions that climate change can produce.
MR. MOHAMUD: Ok and the last thing. [inaudible]
ADMINISTRATOR POWER: Well, yeah, I think there are seven districts fully under Shabab control. That's the UN number. We talked a lot about this in the briefing. There are maybe 15 more districts that are difficult to reach, maybe not under full control. And I think this is where our humanitarian partners, and the local organizations who they work with, because it's really Somalis as you know who are at the frontlines of providing resources to people in need. Everyday they are navigating these questions of how much access they can secure. And so I think we call upon all armed elements in any conflict setting and certainly here in al-Shabab, to allow humanitarian access. To block humanitarian access when the circumference of a child's arm is this big, it's inhuman. We've seen governments do it around the world and certainly we've seen armed groups do it, but in a time of crisis, it is essential that that access be granted.
I think the organizations themselves go on the basis of need and vulnerability, but because that access has been so impeded, and because security is not guaranteed, there are many, many blind spots now in the international community's understanding, and I think the Somali government's understanding even of what the needs are behind al-Shabab lines. And we need that information, we need it fast. If we are late in providing the resources that are needed, human lives will be lost. And so, again we call for immediate access so as to know what is the scope of the problem in al-Shabab controlled areas, and then to try to be in a position to support organizations that can meet those needs.
MR. MOHAMUD: Thank you very much.
ADMINISTRATOR POWER: Thank you, sir.
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