New map shows link between food and insecurity.

A new map of food security risk around the world is, in some ways, depressingly familiar. Sub-saharan Africa leaps out as the place where the most people fear for their next meal, while the rich world has more to fear from obesity. But there's plenty of salutary reminders and fascinating detail, like India's food problems and the vulnerability of Spain.


And it demonstrates the sickening, symbiotic relationship between lack of food and conflict: where one leads, the other follows.

We must start with the worst, in the horn of Africa. In Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea, human failings mean a severe drought has tipped millions into famine. It's a textbook case of why things go wrong. War begets poverty, leaving food unaffordable. Devastated infrastructure destroys both food production and the ability to truck in emergency food. The collapse of society means the effects of extreme weather such as drought cannot be dealt with. And the fear of violence turns people into refugees, leaving their livelihoods and social networks behind.

The recent spike in food prices, linked by some to the uprisings across north Africa and the Middle East, had also hit hard in Somalia. Maize prices in Mogadishu were 100% higher in June 2011 than in June 2010, and the price of sorghum in Somalia rose by 180% compared with 2010 prices.


Sharing Somalia's unhappy ranking as having the greatest risk of food crisis is the Democratic Republic of Congo, where all the factors above apply, plus the impact of as much as half its rich arable land being land grabbed by foreigners. The situation in DRC is simply scary: it is on track to be one of the most populous nations on Earth in coming years.

Turning to India, the new map, produced by risk analysts Maplecroft, reminds us that behind the booming economy of that vast nation, hundreds of millions of poor people remain hungry. Almost half of India's children are malnourished and one in four of the world's hungry poor live there.

"Despite the enormous economic growth India has and is experiencing, it still has very stark income inequality, which is reflected in the malnourishment and infant mortality data," says Helen Hodge, head of maps and indices at Maplecroft. The Maplecroft index, reviewed last year by the World Food Programme, uses 12 types of data to derive a measure of food risk that is based on the UN FAO's concept. That covers the availability, access and stability of food supplies, as well as the nutritional and health status of populations.

Spain and Portugal stand out as very rare examples of rich nations with a medium risk of food security problems. Hodge explains, that while water problems are an issue there, the major reason is heavy reliance on grain imports. Spain buys in 11bn kilograms of grain more than it exports every year at a cost of $2.6bn, while Portugal pays $890m for 3.3bn kilograms.

"Spain and Portugal have made the decision that olive oil and wine exports are more profitable than grain," she says, along with salad crops. So they sell lettuce and Rioja and buy wheat and corn with the profits.

That calculation may change if global food prices continue on their current upwards trend. In other parts of the world, soaring food costs may well ignite further conflict. "It is striking is how much food security plays into the wider picture of unrest," says Hodge.

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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/damian-carrington-blog/2011/aug/31/food-security-prices-conflict

Foreign Aid Spared. So Far Anyway.

I spend so much time analyzing budget processes, allocations and expenditures here, that I sometimes forget what an interesting, if not extremely tumultuous and anxiety ridden, political era we are facing in the US in terms of political infighting over budget allocations, etc.

Good news for those of us in the foreign assistance and international development world came through this week in the form of Obama's budget proposal for 2012 foreign aid spending. In the face of limited fiscal resources, there were some "hard choices" made and the result is "a lean budget for lean times." Although what Congress makes of this remains to be seen... Read on, if you are interested.
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Obama’s 2012 Budget Proposal Spares Foreign Aid from Deep Spending Cuts

U.S. President Barack Obama is requesting USD47 billion for the Department of State and the U.S. Agency for International Development as part of the fiscal 2012 budget proposal his administration released Feb. 14. The request covers USD32.9 billion for core foreign assistance and food aid and USD14.2 billion for core State Department operations.

The proposed state and foreign operations budget represents a 1 percent increase from 2010 and a smaller annual increase than in past years. Obama is also requesting a separate USD8.7 billion for overseas contingency operations in Iraq, Pakistan, Afghanistan and other countries where counterinsurgency efforts and initiatives are increasingly managed by the State Department instead of the Department of Defense.

In a letter included in budget summary documents, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the request is “a lean budget for lean times.” The budget was scrubbed for every dollar of savings and the resources outlined in it are “smart investments” that would save money and lives abroad and in the United States, she explained.

The administration said it made several “hard choices” in drafting the 2012 request, including slowing down the hiring of new staff at USAID and the State Department – a move that could set back the Obama administration’s efforts to reduce its reliance on external contractors.

As part of the 2012 proposal, Obama is asking for funding to support 349 new foreign service and civil service staff members at USAID and the State Department. The total is notably lower than the 410 new officers Obama proposed to hire under his 2011 budget request.

The Obama administration also plans to reduce international spending in 2012 by eliminating bilateral security assistance for several countries, reducing aid and bilateral programs for Europe, Eurasia and Central Asia and cutting funding for the Inter-American Foundation and African Development Foundation.

Despite these reductions, the 2012 budget proposal will likely face significant opposition in the in the Republican-led House of Representatives.

The U.S. Congress has yet to tackle the 2012 budget request. Current debates surrounding appropriations for the 2011 fiscal year gives a glimpse of the tough battle Obama, Clinton and USAID Administrator Rajiv Shah would be facing in defending the state and foreign operations budget.

The House Appropriations committee has recently introduced a continuing budget resolution that cuts Obama’s fiscal 2011 request by more than USD100 billion. The White House has warned that Obama would veto the spending bill for the remainder of fiscal 2011 if it undermines U.S. national security interests.

Swahili Fashion week.

The annual Swahili Fashion Week in Dar es Salaam was last week's highlight.

Now in its 3rd year, Swahili Fashion Week has been deemed East Africa's most sought after fashion and lifestyle platform. Swahili Fashion Week was founded by Mustafa Hassanali in 2008 as a much needed platform for designers across the Swahili speaking world to showcase their creativity and talent.

The chief aim of Swahili Fashion Week is to promote and assist in the growth of East African fashion and textile industries, demonstrating that fashion is indeed a business - as well as a creative expression - and that it can bring economic opportunities to individuals and nations as a whole. Towards that end, USAID East Africa Competitiveness and Trade Expansion Program (COMPETE) is a proud sponsor of Swahili Fashion Week. Under the global campaign banner of Origin Africa, COMPETE seeks to raise awareness about Africa as a preferred sourcing destination for textiles and apparel. In addition, COMPETE provides technical assistance to African firms and governments to enhance their competitiveness in global markets and help African businesses take advantage of trade opportunities available under the African Growth and Opportunity Act with the aim of expanding export opportunities and promoting increased interregional trade.

As proof of USAID's pioneering leadership in the fashion industry, the USAID/Tanzania Mission Director assumed front row seats at this not to be missed event.

Condom Vending Machine.

So practical.

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Photo Credit: Andrei Sinioukov

Condom Truck.

So cute.

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Photo Credit: Andrei Sinioukov

Driftwood.

 

I am asked almost every day by a number of people what our plans are, more specifically, when are you and Andrei planning to return to the United States? The reality is our plans will probably not entail an immediate return to the U.S., at least not as our next best course of action. It makes sense professionally for us to both continue to invest in time spent living and working in the field, where the more interesting work opportunities also happen to reside. A decision to stay in the field may provide us with a comparative advantage in this notoriously competitive field.

But this simple and logical explanation for our locational decisions, does not mean that I do not experience moments of doubt about the lack of formative plans on the near horizon, especially as my year long visa will be expiring in the next couple of weeks. In fact, I would be remiss to not admit that awaiting responses on career-related news and decisions that are not within our control, makes me feel wholly out of control.

In an attempt to gather personal clarity in the face of looming professional uncertainty, I found myself soulfully clinging to the words of this song today...I would like to be like driftwood, floating with the flow...being taken for a ride...

Shopping with a Conscious: Bantu.

I have long grown tired of increasingly grandiose attempts to get consumers to consume more under the thinly veiled guise of saving the world. But this Vanity Fair headline really seemed to take the cake, "Buy a Swimsuit, Save Africa". Its a simple claim really, but yet, so loaded. A swimsuit that can save a whole continent, please let us not oversimplify rather complex development challenges that professionals have been trying to tackle for decades. But as I read on, my skepticism gave way to tentative support. Perhaps a swimsuit purchase will not save an entire continent, but here is what shopping with a consciousness may do.

Despite the often reported horrors of the continent, the founders of this swimsuit line, Bantu, seek to promote an often overlooked side of the African continent - Africa's amazing beaches and vibrant beach culture from Dakar to Cape Town to Zanzibar to Casablanca. Amidst stories that reach the American shores of the despondent and helpless peoples of African nations, this family business with African roots attempts to promote the sunnier side of this so called "dark" continent.

Yodit Eklund is the mastermind and visionary behind this new swimsuit line. Together with her brother, Yohannes Mekbebe, she is launching this swimwear line inspired by their childhood roots in Kenya, Egypt, and Bangladesh with strong influences from the low-key surfing vibe of the African coast.

So how exactly does this swimsuit purchase "save Africa"? Well, beyond, the bold efforts to rebrand Africa from "forever backward" to "full of vitality and life," their prints are sourced from sub-Saharan artists, and then cut and sewn in factories from Ethiopia to Cameroon, bringing industrial and economic development to some of the world’s most needy communities.

Bantu recognizes that we as consumers have the ability to make a difference, one purchase at a time, even in the seemingly far flung reaches of Africa. What Bantu does not provide is charity nor does it produce one off goods that consumers neither need nor want with a mere fraction of the proceeds supporting one cause or another. Rather their model is one of empowerment. Bantu does not create communities dependent upon aid, but gives them the opportunity to work and provide highly desired consumer goods (at least that is the goal of course).

Perhaps, not so ironically, you can find her collection at high end retailers across the U.S. including Barneys, Fred Segal, and Steven Alan boutiques (allegedly at Anthropologie as well, although I could not find online proof of that).

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References:

Vanity Fair, June 2010.

http://www.vanityfair.com/online/daily/2008/09/buy-a-swimsuit-save-africa.html

http://www.africansurfer.com/?p=852

http://www.bantuwax.com/mission.html

Little Sad Eyes.

As with most large urban centers around the world, it is not uncommon to see people here begging in the streets. And as is usually the case, there is something extremely uncomfortable about this desperation. Do you acknowledge the person you see before you? Or do you avoid eye contact altogether? Do you give a hand-out? Or would this be perpetuating a cycle of dependence?

This past weekend we were approached by three different people within a little over an hour span all seeking handouts. The first man sauntered up to our car window, dressed in an outlandish outfit, he smiled broadly, and said, "I am hungry, can you please give me 200Tsh so that I can buy some cassava to eat." Andrei and I both looked at each other with a mutually shared sense of endearment and I placed 100Tsh in his hand. You gotta give him points for confidence and charm. As he walked away, he gave a sweeping thumbs up motion, it seemed we had made his day, or at least fed his belly.

The second man to approach our car window was old enough to be my grandfather. He had deep lines from dimples that seemed to transform his whole face when he smiled. A slightly built man, he meekly made an eating motion upon his approach, paused, smiled, and then waited for "kitu kidogo" (a little something). How could we not? As I handed over a 100Tsh, he offered up a receipt book. When I asked him what it was for he burst out laughing. While his answer was never clear to me, this struck me as a truly hilarious and perhaps innovative distinguishing device in the otherwise ordinary game of "begging." We later joked, was that supposed to suggest that your donation could later be deemed tax deductible?

As we continued to wait in standstill traffic, we were approached by a woman with three kids surrounding her. One child was slung across her back in a khanga, while she held the hand of a barefoot little girl in a tattered dress. An older boy sheepishly hid behind her, and he held an iron grip on her dress. I suspected he was old enough to feel a sense of shame about this. She approached our car, staring off into the distance, murmured something hardly audible, and then just stood there, waiting. The silence was deafening. Three pairs of little sad eyes looked at us, wanting, needing, expecting. This was undeniably sad. But there was something so odd and lacking about her diffident approach. It was not even quite clear that she was in fact begging (and to be fair we had already had a number of people approach our window just to stare at us in amusement or to size up whether there was anything within arm's reach worthy of grabbing). With hesitation, I finally offered a 200Tsh coin out the window, only to realize she had begun a quiet retreat from the car. The little boy reached for my offering and placed it squarely into the palm of his mother's hand. It was only then that we realized she was blind. She thumbed over the coin, and returned to our car window, under the guiding direction of her young son. She handed the coin back to me and simply stated, "This is not enough."

And that is what little sad eyes are made of. http://popheadwound.blogspot.com/2009/07/mp3-magnolia-electric-co-little-sad_08.html

I heart Dar es Salaam.

Andrei returned this week after a month on the road fulfilling his dutiful and newfound role as an international development consultant. I naively thought that his move to Tanzania would effectively put to an end such extended lengths of time apart on account of work, but alas it seems we have signed up for a lifetime of this, barring a radical career move on both our parts, which seems unlikely at best, at least in the near term future.

I have always found myself experiencing bouts of loneliness when Andrei is away for such great lengths, but also, I find that I appreciate the time to focus on myself and enjoy these stretches as periods of self-imposed “hibernation.” In his month’s long absence, I managed to discover a new gym and develop a new routine around step aerobics, I “toured” Mikumi National Park and caught a welcome glimpse of life outside of Dar, I read three books, I learned to drive in Dar es Salaam and learned how to change the engine oil in our “new-to-us” RAV4, I learned how to bet on racing goats, and I indulged regular invites to work as crew on sailing boats and snorkel and swim in the Indian Ocean.

Despite the excitement and whirlwind activity described above, I experienced a great deal of idle time and (rather embarrassingly) filled this void by indulging a long held guilty pleasure – back to back episodes of Sex and the City. This three season binge culminated with the last episode in Season 4 entitled “I heart NY,” which struck me as oddly coincidental following my recent blog post entitled the very same.

Feeling particularly restless following this episode, I stepped outside onto our terrace overlooking the Indian Ocean to catch a breath of fresh air and finish my glass of less than impressive South African Sauvignon Blanc. Our terrace was flooded with light from the almost full moon. Despite the moon’s fullness, the stars were bright and vivid, almost 3-D in appearance, pulsing in the sky. I then noticed several unidentifiable shapes in the water below. It seems too many episodes of Sex and the City got the better of me, at first I confused the shadowy figures in the water for a young, breathless couple making out, only to realize instead, that these were two local fishermen casting their fishing nets. As I watched them lay their nets in perfectly formed co-centric circles, the fact that this was surely back-breaking and tireless work momentarily escaped me, rather it all appeared romantic and dreamy from the distance off our balcony. The sound of the tide coming in and the breaking waves on the shoreline was only eclipsed by the sound of the low-flying KLM flight from Amsterdam landing in DAR like clockwork at 11:30pm.

While I “heart” NY, it can wait. I have no doubt I will live there at some point in my life. Right now, I “heart” Dar es Salaam. I still have much to learn here, and am only now beginning to overcome some of the initial shock and steep learning curves that inevitably come with the process of learning to call a new place home, especially one that is so free of any influences from the place you otherwise know as home.

Prior to our move here, a good friend who received his terminal degree in Anthropology warned, you will be surprised to find yourself in a place that is so free of American influences. He and I had formed a friendship and developed a bond by sharing stories of our travels in Honduras, he as a PhD candidate conducting his field research in the Bay Islands of Honduras in the late 1970s, me nearly 25 years later as a Peace Corps volunteer. Honduras is a country that seems wholly unable to escape the influence of the United States, thanks in part to the Monroe Doctrine, a foreign policy introduced in 1823 that essentially remains “in tact” nearly two centuries later.

Tanzania, by comparison, seems far removed from the grips of American influence. Surely there are signs of it here and there, but beyond the world of foreign assistance and international aid, you really must dig deep to find compelling signs of America’s influence here. While news of Africa barely reaches the United States, the news we receive is decidedly Africa-centric (thank you BBC World Service). The United States, long complacent in its role as the world’s sole hegemony, is quickly being usurped by the Indians, who are undeniably the heart and soul of the Tanzanian business community, and the Chinese, who are pouring money into this country in the form of infrastructure investments and in turn paving the way for formidable economic advancements in their interest. The music on the streets is of a self-described “bongo-flavor” with American music only sprinkled in on the rare occasion for other “flavor.” An American manufactured car is a rare sight on the streets here, while Toyota seems to have an almost exclusive agreement with the car dealers of Dar. Similarly, while in Central America public transit often takes the form of American yellow school bus cast-offs, here the fleets of dala-dalas crawling through the slogs of traffic are almost exclusively the hand-me-downs of larger Asia cities.

Despite this, it was only yesterday that my friend’s insights really hit home, when I learned not only that there was sequel of a Sex and the City in the works, but that it is scheduled to open in theatres today! The media coverage casually asserted, “No matter who you are, where you're from, or if you've got two X chromosomes or just one, chances are you've probably heard about the imminent release of Sex and the City 2,” further yet, “With all the hype surrounding Sex And The City 2, you'd have to be living in Antarctica if you didn't know it's opening.” Or Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

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References and Photo Credits:



http://wonderwomanvee.wordpress.com/2009/09/02/excited-com-sex-and-the-city-2/

http://www.filmofilia.com/2009/12/10/sex-and-the-city-2-poster/

http://www.refinery29.com/spolier-alert-satcii-is-low-on-plot-high-on-fashion.php

http://www.refinery29.com/the-tackiest-sex-and-the-city-products.php

http://www.filmofilia.com/2009/12/24/first-sex-and-the-city-2-trailer/

http://www.filmofilia.com/2010/03/11/8-new-sex-and-the-city-2-photos/

U.S. foreign assistance, the long and short of it.

Andrei and I both recently experienced several frustrated days, a spell where nothing seemed to be going right. Work colleagues are unresponsive to our calls and emails, impeding our progress. We bought a kilo of frozen prawns that were spoiled, the stench lingered in our kitchen for days. ATMs are out of cash or power, and so are we to do anything about it. A friend's $400 blackberry was stolen from an open window of our vehicle in moving traffic, shaking our complacency with security concerns in our immediate surroundings. Amidst all of these frustrations, it is easy to loose sight of our motivations for being here and the importance of foreign assistance work in Africa. However, a positive reminder of my commitment to this line of work appeared in my inbox this morning.

During the recent Congressional recess, two U.S. Senators conducted a tour of U.S. foreign assistance efforts in East Africa. They not only visited a CARE office, but toured some project sites where I have been directly involved in managing emergency transport and communications systems for improved health outcomes. Below, I include an excerpt from Senator Dick Durbin's (D, IL) remarks to President Obama reflecting on this tour.

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Last week I joined my colleague Senator SHERROD BROWN of Ohio on a trip to East Africa. It was an important trip that took us to Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, and Sudan. We went in to observe American development assistance, to look at programs that help the victims of HIV and AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, child and maternal mortality, victims of sexual violence, clean water, sanitation issues, democracy, governments, refugees.

We spent a lot of time meeting with people, meeting with government officials, meeting with individuals who are part of the current political environment of Africa, but also many of their lives are touched by programs in which the United States is involved.

I could not help but notice as I traveled the extraordinarily dedicated Americans who are in our Foreign Service. Many of them are posted in places around the world that are not glamorous by any means. Their jobs are hard and sometimes dangerous, and they go to work every day without complaint. We need to tip our hats to them as Americans. Let me add in there Peace Corps volunteers, many who work for the nongovernment organizations, the NGOs. Many Americans serve our best interests around the world every day without fanfare or praise.

We went to Tanzania. In Mwanza in Tanzania, we encountered a group of young Baylor University doctors who are doing part of their residency at a regional hospital, one that serves a population of several million people. Can you imagine one hospital serving that many people? That is what the people are up against in Africa.

We met a representative from Abbot Labs from my home State of Illinois who was there helping to build a modern laboratory and train local staff for the hospital.

In a small rural village several hours down a dusty, bumpy road from the nearest city, we witnessed a program by the nongovernmental organization CARE that helped build a rudimentary but critically important health clinic. It is hard to describe this to an American, what an African would call a health clinic. It is, in fact, a building without windows but with openings for air to flow through. It is a building that is so basic it does not have running water or electricity. But it is, in fact, a building where 168 babies were born last year. When you see this and meet the people who are delivering the babies, you realize that in many parts of Africa health care is very basic. The man who runs this clinic has about a year or two of education beyond high school. The woman who serves him is one who is gifted with not only personal skills but a lot of human experience in delivering babies. 

What happens if there is a complication in the middle of this village in the middle of nowhere with no means of communication? Well, they try to get the message to the man who runs the ambulance. The ambulance in Mwanza is a tricycle, a tricycle with a flat bed on the back. They take a woman who is needing a Caesarean section, for example, put her on the back of this tricycle and take her off for a 4-hour trip to the closest hospital. That is maternal and childcare in Africa, in Tanzania. We are trying to help through the organization CARE that I mentioned earlier. 

With their help, they have not only brought them the money necessary for their ambulance, this tricycle, they have helped the local residents develop a savings and loan where their modest earnings they make by selling agricultural produce are banked away for a better day. They are allowed to borrow small units of money for buying sewing machines, which can dramatically change a life in these poor villages, or livestock or to help to pay for their kids to go to school.

There are frequent debates about the value of U.S. foreign assistance. When Americans are asked, how much do we spend in foreign aid, the most common response is, about 25 percent of the Federal budget. The fact is, it is just over 1 percent in foreign aid around the world. We spend far less as a percentage of our gross domestic product than many nations. But the work we do is so absolutely essential for maintaining life, fighting disease, for making certain that young people have a fighting chance.

President Obama recognizes that. I hope we can have bipartisan support to continue our
help with foreign aid, even in this difficult time.  

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Senator Durbin's comments provided a powerful reminder of the day-to-day realities of the beneficiaries of U.S. foreign assistance and humanitarian aid. On a personal level, his comments were not only a high level recognition of the importance of the work I am involved in during my time as a visiting fellow with CARE in Tanzania, but also a swift reminder to not let short-term frustrations obscure the importance of longer term development objectives and goals.

If anyone happens to be interested, I placed a video on youtube that provides an example of one of the community tricycles for emergency health transport referenced in Senator Durbin's comments above: