Climate change added to warfare is worsening hunger worldwide, according to one of Germany's largest aid groups. Welthungerhilfe has said many poor have "no more reserves or resilience left" when hit by extreme weather.
Image: picture-alliance/imageBROKER/K. Kramer
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The world's southern hemisphere poor were bearing the brunt of climate change caused by rich, fossil-fuel consumers of the global North, Welthungerhilfe President Marlehn Thieme said in Berlin on Wednesday.
Presenting the Bonn-based organization's annual report for 2018, Thieme said climate change amounted to a "question of justice" in ensuring that resources — still sufficient worldwide to feed everyone — reached the poorest.
Hunger victims, often already cut off to outside help by conflict parties, no longer had livelihoods and sustenance as droughts, floods and storms wrecked their fields and eliminated their farm animals.
Citing Cyclon Idai, which in April ravaged Mozambique, Malawi and Zimbabwe, Thieme said weather extremes had become an additional "fatal link" hampering aid workers and restoration of communal nutrition.
Drastic declines in land and oceanic harvests amid rising average temperatures required answers in the form of early warning systems, weather insurance and drought-durable seeds, she added.
Coupled with warfare, in which conflict parties cut off "entire regions" from the outside world, extreme weather was a compounding factor, said Welthungerhilfe's Secretary General Mathias Mogge.
Spiral of conflict
Citing as examples South Sudan, Congo and Niger, Mogge said villagers lost "their entire livelihoods."
Resources like water and grazing land became scarce, leading to further conflict, in societies where people already had little to withstand emergencies.
"Schools and hospitals are targeted for bombing," he said, further preventing arrivals of aid supplies and making "working conditions for our staff" increasingly dangerous.
Queuing for rations at Bentiu in South SudanImage: DW/J.P. Scholz
Welthungerhilfe's precept of "help for self-help" remained so people can "shape their lives in a self-determined way," said Mogge.
Sharing seed, tools
He cited a [smartphone] app used in Myanmar to boost seed production and programmed in cooperation with Wageningen University and Research in the Netherlands.
"Those who have grown seed can sell it to those who have little or no seed. Another app informs users which farmers rent tools they currently don't need," said Mogge.
Reliant on public donors
Reporting on its 2018 efforts, Welthungerhilfe said it had spent €213.6 ($243) million on the fight against hunger and poverty last year.
Public donors provided €155.4 million euros for project work. Private donations amounted to €54.9 million.
The largest public donor was the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), which provided €38.6 million.
The largest project regions supported by Welthungerhilfe were Burundi, Liberia and Syria/Turkey.
ipj/sms (dpa, AFP, KNA)
After the storm: Rebuilding Beira
Cyclone Idai slammed into southeast Africa in March, killing over 1,000 people. In Mozambique, the city of Beira was particularly hard hit. How are the city's 600,000 inhabitants coping?
Image: DW/A. Kriesch
Beira transformed into a construction site
Beira now resembles a construction site six weeks after Cyclone Idai hit the city. Almost all the rooftops were either blown away or severely damaged. The World Bank estimates the total damage across Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi amounts to $2 billion (€1.78 billion).
Image: DW/A. Kriesch
Life without a roof
The roof of Andre Lino's house was blown away in the storm and he can't afford a new one. Lino and his family have lived here since 1977 — just 100 meters (109 yards) away from the beach. "The sea is getting closer," says Lino. "That scares me." He would like to move away, but can't afford to.
Image: DW/A. Kriesch
Rising sea levels a concern
Parts of Beira are below sea level. The city has suffered from many fatal floods in the past and further catastrophes are likely in the near future. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimates that the sea level is expected to increase by another 40 to 80 centimeters (16 to 31 inches) by 2100.
Image: DW/A. Kriesch
Fragile shacks by the sea
The poorest neighborhoods, such as Praia Nova, were hit hardest. Shacks were torn apart by the storm. Many fishermen also lost their boats.
Image: DW/A. Kriesch
Water management project
In the city center, millions of miles of canals and tidal structures were built just a few years ago with the help of German development aid. German development bank KfW contributed €13 million to finance the construction work.
Image: DW/A. Kriesch
Lock prevents greater damage
"The rain started on the day of the cyclone," says Eduardo dos Santos, who operates the city's main lock. "So we opened the floodgates so that the water could flow back into the sea. Had we not done so, the flooding in the city would have been worse."
Image: DW/A. Kriesch
Mayor tackles climate change
"We are used to flooding," says the mayor of Beira, Daviz Simango. "But this kind of cyclone was new for us so we have to respond now." Simango has organized a donor conference in June, where he hopes to raise more money to better protect the city from the effects of climate change.
Image: DW/A. Kriesch
The cleanup continues
The city administration is eager to restore order before the donor conference in June. Parts of the city now have access to electricity and running water. But not all areas have been given the all-clear.
Image: DW/A. Kriesch
Volunteers keen to help
Volunteers like Magdalena Louis help with the ongoing reconstruction work. She has been on duty for weeks and is only given lunch every day in return. "I just want our city to be clean again," she says. "Nobody has to pay me for that."
Image: DW/A. Kriesch
Refugee camps in the city
Aid organizations from all over the world are maintaining a presence in the city. Thousands of people are still living in tents and rely on food donations. The health situation remains tense: Cholera has broken out and cases of malaria may also increase.
Image: DW/A. Kriesch
No harvest, no food
Outside Beira, large swathes of crops were also destroyed by the storm. "All of the corn, all of the rice…everything is gone," says farmer Elisa Jaque. The 61-year-old is already re-planting seeds. But she won't be able to feed herself and her family again for at least six months.
Image: DW/A. Kriesch
A welcome distraction
There are also signs that Beira is slowly returning to normalcy. A friendly match between local football teams attracts hundreds of spectators — although the stadium roof was another victim of the cyclone.
Image: DW/A. Kriesch
A step towards normalcy
Those who couldn't afford tickets for the football match found creative solutions. They parked minibuses and vans around the stadium and used them as makeshift grandstands. This scene will be repeated for next week's match. Another step towards normalcy in Beira.
