Ainashe.net

According to the UN News Wire:

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has appointed Kjell Magne Bondevik, former Prime Minister of Norway, as his new Special Humanitarian Envoy for the Horn of Africa, in response to recurrent drought and food insecurity devastating the region. More than 40 per cent of the population are currently undernourished in the Horn, one of the most food-insecure regions in the world. The Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that severe drought is threatening the lives of an estimated 11 million people across Somalia, Kenya, Djibouti and Ethiopia. This compounds what is already a dire humanitarian situation in countries beset by years of high rates of malnutrition and morbidity, chronic food insecurity and the effects of conflict. 

Time permitting, I will write more about this later this week but suffice it to say that I believe that the appointment of Mr. Bondevik as a “Special Humanitarian Envoy” for the draught devastated Somalia and the rest of Horn of Africa is the only sign of hope the starving people have received thus far! I believe Mr. Bondevik will bring in positive political weight and influence that will certainly be beneficial to the starving Somalis. More importantly, his proven track record of humanitarianism and a genuine care for those who are crying for help will have far greater positive impact than any other candidate could have ever mastered. In Short, I am not a big fan of Kofi Annan, but I must say that he did the right thing this time by appointing Mr. Bondevik for this position. 

I say: Velkommen Herr Bondevik! 

Click here to view the appointment announcement by the UN.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 7th, 2006 at 10:58 pm and is filed under Africa, Commentary, Development Issues, Food Crisis Emergency, National Security, News, Norway, Personal. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.