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bjbjLULU JEFFREY BROWN: And finally tonight, a new step to help ease the suffering in Somalia.
Margaret Warner has our update. MARGARET WARNER: For weeks, the world has seen heart-wrenching
pictures of starving children and adults seeking refuge from drought and hunger in the Horn
of Africa. As many as 12 million people in five countries are at risk. But the hardest-hit
and most vulnerable are in southern Somalia. There, civil conflict has combined with the
regional drought to produce famine. Tens of thousands of Somalis have died and more than
half-a-million children are on the brink of starvation. Yet, Western aid isn't flowing
to where the worst of the famine is. That's because much of southern Somalia is controlled
by the Islamic insurgent group al-Shabab. Shabab has threatened and killed international
aid workers there. What's more, U.S. antiterrorism restrictions make it a crime for any American
charity to provide support directly or indirectly to al-Shabab. Today, at the urging of major
aid groups, the U.S. government eased that threat. USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah is
here to explain. He's just back from the region. And, Administrator Shah, thank you for joining
us. DR. RAJIV SHAH, United States Agency for International Development: Thank you. MARGARET
WARNER: You are just back from visiting Somali refugees at camps in Kenya who fled from these
al-Shabab-controlled regions. How bad was the situation? DR. RAJIV SHAH: Well, it's
tragic. And it's worse than I think most people believe. I met a young woman named Habiba
who had walked for 33 days with her two children and what little belongings she had, showed
up at the Dadaab refugee camp, like tens of thousands of her country mates, needing food,
needing medicine, her children needing health interventions just to survive. And it is a
sign of what has happened. We have known for more than 10 months, thanks to a famine early-warning
system that we helped set up, that this region is going through the worst drought in more
than 60 years. And it is leading to a real famine, where children, in particular, are
vulnerable and are dying every day from preventable causes, because they are acutely malnourished.
MARGARET WARNER: Now, what difference -- what will be the practical effect of what you announced
today? In other words, what will aid groups who want to operate in southern Somalia be
able to do that they can't do now legally? DR. RAJIV SHAH: Well, you know, the United
States has been on the forefront of the response to the drought and famine throughout the Horn
of Africa for the past 10 months. But even on the emergency front, and especially in
south and central Somalia, the real issue is humanitarian access. And, right now, and
as has been the case for years, the al-Shabab and other authorities have limited access
by humanitarian groups. And, in fact, partners like the World Food Program had to leave Somalia
in January of 2010 after suffering 14 casualties. So, we hope that -- and we are working hard
to make sure that authorities in Somalia allow access for humanitarian organizations and
NGOs. And the United States has been supporting those organizations and will continue to support
those organizations going forward. MARGARET WARNER: But what the aid groups were saying,
the NGOs, was, also, we feel we're in legal jeopardy. And that was the basis, I thought,
of today's announcement. What -- can you be more specific about what -- give us an example
of something an aid group could now do, if they were operating in good faith, that they
couldn't do five days ago? DR. RAJIV SHAH: Sure. Well -- well, you know, now -- now humanitarian
groups and NGOs can operate without the concern of legal risk, should their convoys of food
be appropriated by local authorities or should they be taxed or in a position where they
are forced to provide some material support to those authorities. But the -- I would just
point out that the real issue is not the legal restriction and has not been any set of legal
restrictions placed by our government or any other government. The real issue for the past
year has been humanitarian access. And we see, regularly, food convoys getting attacked,
humanitarian workers being threatened and asked to leave. And, as a result, despite
the fact that the drought affects 12.5 million people in five countries, the famine actually
affects only al-Shabab control areas in south and central Somalia, about 2.8 million people.
MARGARET WARNER: So, what evidence is there that, in fact, at least maybe some local Shabab
commanders are willing to let Western aid groups in? Because, as you said, they -- they
actually kicked out Western aid groups a year ago. Then they have sent mixed signals since
then about whether they are welcome back. DR. RAJIV SHAH: Well, we have actually seen
some positive signals from a range of partners in and a range of authorities in Somalia that
indicate that there is going to be some improvement in the access for humanitarian organizations.
It's based on those signals that we have worked with the United Nations and with a broad range
of NGOs and organizations, including European partners, partners from the Gulf states, and
local community-based organizations that do have some ability to operate, and we're seeking
to work with them. We know how to save lives right now, and we have been well-positioned
for more than 10 months in most of the Horn of Africa, and we're counting on improved
humanitarian access to help save lives in south and central Somalia, and working in
a very focused way to make that happen. MARGARET WARNER: And if that humanitarian access doesn't
get better, what -- how great are the chances that the officially designated U.N. famine
zones are going to actually expand? DR. RAJIV SHAH: well, the consequences of this drought
and famine will get worse before they get better. And President Obama launched, when
he first took office, a major effort to bring the world together to address food insecurity
and precisely these types of problems through a program we call Feed the Future, because
we know that, by investing in agricultural development, by investing in creating safety
nets for vulnerable communities, by supporting countries to create the protections from these
kinds of problems, we can avoid these types of famines. It doesn't have to be this way.
And it is cheaper and safer for America to make those investments now than to deal with
the consequences, the tragic consequences, of famines, of failed states and of food riots,
when we see what's happening now transpire throughout parts of Africa. MARGARET WARNER:
Rajiv Shah, administrator of USAID, thank you so much. DR. RAJIV SHAH: Thank you. urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags
City urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags State urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags
country-region urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags place JEFFREY BROWN: And finally tonight:
a new step to help ease the suffering in Somalia Normal Microsoft Office Word JEFFREY BROWN:
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