The Canadian government has announced the country will provide $119 million to countries in the midst of a food crisis.
This includes $27 million to Nigeria, $21 million to Somalia, $37 million to South Sudan and $34 million to Yemen.
These four countries have been identified as the most in need right now.
Canada provided over $100 million to these countries in 2016.
As a well-developed country, Canada should be providing aid to help people in dire need.
The United Nations have described this as the largest humanitarian crisis since the end of the Second World War.
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The conditions in these countries is appalling and many of the people living in them have barely enough food to survive.
Around 10.3 million Yemenis require life-saving assistance according to aid organizations.
It does not get any better for the three other countries as around 8.5 million people in Nigeria are in need of humanitarian assistance while 5.1 million of them face extreme food insecurity.
Roughly half of Somalia, which is over six million people, require humanitarian assistance.
Sudan is in a famine that is affecting an estimated 100,000 people,w while around one million are at risk of starvation according to Global Affairs Canada.
Providing aid to the most vulnerable in these countries is something that needs to be done. They should not suffer due to inept governments.
The problem lies in the fact the governments in Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen are expecting a bail out from humanitarian aid.
The money going across needs to find the people that need it, not the governments who caused the problem in the first place.
Canada’s support will be given through UN agencies and non-governmental humanitarian agencies and the hope is it will go directly to provision of food, health-care services, clean water and sanitation facilities and to protect livelihoods.
Ahmed Hussen, Canada’s Immigration Minister, says the Canadian government is urging the “power players” in the four countries to allow aid to be delivered.
Hussen also said that the majority of the food insecurity has been caused by conflict and displacement from conflict zones.
The lack of liability when it comes to governments who have citizens in need of life-saving help is something that needs to be addressed.
They rely on Western financial help and then do not place it in the right areas to help their people who really need it.
Hopefully this contribution from Canada can correct some wrongs that got these countries into this horrible situation and the money goes into helping the people who are in desperate need of humanitarian assistance.
