New famine approach: Feed animals, not people?

Feed the animals, work the people. That's the latest strategy being tested by the UN in an effort to relive the suffering caused by the famine in Somalia. Cultural and political realities have compelled experts to reevaluate traditional famine-relief methods in a region where the lives of animals are valued above people.

LOS ANGELES, (Catholic Online) - The town of Dobley just across the border from Kenya is a popular stopping point for families fleeing the famine, disease, and conflict widespread throughout Somalia.

The town's two watering holes are also the only source of water for as many as 50,000 families who rely on them to sustain themselves and their livestock. This central importance has made Dobley the focal point of a new UN relief effort.
 
The problem faced by aid workers is twofold. First, roving Islamic militants are making survival difficult for locals, preventing the town from receiving any food or aid because its leaders are not allied with the local warlord. This makes any food which reaches the city more expensive because it must be smuggled past the militants who are trying to starve the town into submission.

Furthermore, what food does reach the city is frequently used for the animals and not the people. This is because in local culture, the herds of animals are the basis of survival for the entire clan, and the life of an individual is of less import than the animals.

So while locals will go great lengths to care for their livestock, often spending more on keeping the animals alive than what they're worth, they also tend to neglect themselves and their children when the needs of the animals are in conflict.
 
To address these political and cultural factors, the UN is now shipping food into the region, but with a catch--it's just for the animals. It is hoped that by feeding the animals, the locals will use what food they acquire for themselves, thus alleviating the famine conditions.

Additionally, experts are considering the implementation of a work program for locals who cannot sustain themselves by herding. Employing the local population on infrastructure projects will develop the region and allow the people to provide their own food and water without the need for continued aid.
 
It is hoped the project will encourage locals to stay and tend their herds rather than flee across the border to Kenya where refugee camps are already crowded. If the project is successful, it could spread to other places in similar circumstances and make the region more famine-resistant in the future.

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