Developing joint plan to the Drought in Central America

11 de agosto de 2001

By: Xavier Castellanos
Regional Information Delegate

Crop failures and water shortages have forced thousands of people to seek food, particularly in Honduras and Nicaragua, two of the countries in Central America which are most affected by the drought.

According to the United Nations, some 1.4 million farmers in Central America are affected by the drought and the loss of harvests, of whom at least 775 hundred thousand are in a critical situation.

For Leon Prop, Head of the Regional Delegation of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the crop failure and water shortages are not the only problems that Central American countries are confronting these days, “Our advice to our country offices has been to avoid focusing exclusively on people’s immediate food needs, but to pay more attention to the context in each country. There are also other issues which need to be considered and analyzed, such as the fall in coffee prices, consequent unemployment and the increase in poverty. There is a need to understand the complexities of the situation to be able to determine assistance priorities, as well as considering measures to alleviate drought and famine, if such it is. Each of these aspects concern us and show very clearly the depth of the problem and the need to respond carefully to this silent disaster”.

Much work has been carried out by the Red Cross since the “droughts” started. In the case of Honduras, for example, volunteers and branches have been very active during the past two weeks, coordinating and directing assessments to help the National Society define with more clarity the actions that should be undertaken.

In the assessment work, the Red Cross is evaluating at what point the current conditions may spark a new crisis. For example, severe droughts as a result of the current water shortage. At this moment, the situation is clear, farmers have lost their harvests and there is a food shortage which, in a medium term, could result in famine, should the current conditions prevail.

Latest reports from the Honduran Red Cross assessment teams, led by OPADE, the Disaster Preparedness Offices of the National Society, are starting to show concrete results that will help prioritize future areas of intervention. Information has been collected such as: affected areas, food availability in local markets, the price of basic food stuffs, average quantities of water available per person, health and nutritional status and interviews have taken place with people affected and governmental and non governmental relief organizations.

As soon as this baseline is completed, the Red Cross Plan of Action will be issued focusing on specific activities, based on National Society capacity and expertise. In the meantime, the Honduran Red Cross has distributed one thousands bags of maize to the municipalities of Nacaome and Pespire, where approximately 6,000 thousand people will benefit from this donation.