Guillaume Amigues and Andrew Bishop: Aid that could save the lives of thousands can't reach Somalia

Guillaume Amigues and Andrew Bishop Somali men onboard a World Food Programme boat in 2007. The vessel, under French escort, arrived safely south of Mogadishu. Photograph: Jose Cendon / AFP / Getty Images A catastrophe is unfolding in the Horn of Africa. Calls for attention by the World Food Programme (WFP) and by several leading non-governmental organisations have been relayed weakly – if at all – by the global media, despite the seriousness of the situation. Paul Bendix, the head of Oxfam Germany, believes over 13 million people could die of hunger if nothing is done. The near-absence of rainfall during the March to May wet season and the exponential rise in wheat and rice prices over the past year are the main causes of the famine. Somalia, Ethiopia and parts of Uganda and northern Kenya are in danger. International donors... [read full story]