Pastoralist animal herders in Somalia. © CARE/Liam PerretThis year’s World Food Day was on Sunday 16 October. Leading up to the day CARE International UK co-launched two reports on the subject of food, malnutrition and hunger, with partners Overseas Development Institute (ODI) and Institute for Development Studies (IDS).
The death knell for pastoralism?
The new ODI and CARE International report, ‘Rules of the Range’, warns that pastoralism, the traditional life of animal herding central to people’s lives in the Horn of Africa, is under threat. For this way of life to remain viable management of natural resources and land must be supported in a better way by government, international institutional donors, and regional and international non government organisations.
Pastoralists in East Africa currently face grave threats to their lands and the freedom of movement which they depend on. As a result their survival and resilience is being eroded, and their lives further blighted by conflict.
‘Rules of the Range’ is informed by the contributions of many pastoralist communities. CARE International’s Hassan Oda Hulufu – himself a Kenyan pastoralist – says,
‘Pastoral communities have been managing scarce resources for many generations. Sadly a combination of problems from climate change to poor governance structures is forcing them to abandon their traditional practices and ways of earning a living as they seek alternative work in urban areas.’
Key recommendations include:
- Full recognition must be made of the links between conflict and natural resources management, and they must be properly regulated.
- A broad vision and strategy for supporting pastoralism at a regional level is required – one which can overcome the view of pastoralism as a problem to be solved by settlement.
- The governments of Kenya and Ethiopia need to establish policies which will recognise – and permit – the cross-border nature of pastoralism.
- Secure land rights for pastoralists are needed to prevent expropriation of rangeland. To put their land rights on the same footing as those of farmers.
“Rules of the Range” is available to download.
Breakthrough in the fight against malnutrition in Peru
The report launched on Wednesday with the Institute of Development Studies (IDS), tells how over 130,000 children under five in Peru have been spared from chronic malnutrition.
The report says progress on tackling child malnutrition worldwide remains slow and very uneven but the case of Peru is 'an encouraging exception to the rule', where stunting rates fell by five per cent in five years.
This fall - from 22.9 per cent in 2005 to 17.9 per cent in 2010 - is “more remarkable” because there was a freeze in malnutrition levels for ten years between 1996 and 2005. It found success could not be credited to favourable socioeconomic changes in Peru.
Instead, the report credits government interventions. The role played by the international aid system and civil society organisations is “a fundamental part of the success story” through the formation of the Child Malnutrition Initiative (CMI) in 2006.
CARE’s Climate Change and Food Security Team Leader, Karl Deering, said at the launch of the report in London, “As we approach World Food Day, this report offers real optimism in what is a tough fight against malnutrition. This report demonstrates that international development agencies, in collaboration with national partners and Ministries, are having a positive impact on child malnutrition in Peru. This can be considered a breakthrough.
“Importantly, it also draws recommendations that governments, donor agencies and civil society organisations could implement to ensure this success continues and is replicated elsewhere. The potential of this approach in Africa is enormous and this success proves that political commitment is a crucial component in tackling malnutrition.”
Find out more and download the report.
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