Am I Being Harsh?

There is another famine taking place in Africa and people in Western countries are again being asked to foot the bill. Although two seasons without rainfall, leading to drought, have of course contributed to this grim situation, I have to ask why no developmental action is taken in the intervening periods between famines in order to decrease the likelihood of similar problems in the future. The answer is national conflicts. Well-equipped and powerful militia groups have persistently prevented aid organisations from gaining access to the worst-hit parts of Somalia and Ethiopia; and violent battles have deterred long-term international investment. For instance, if charities such as Plan International or Oxfam were able to help African countries in reducing deforestation, improving water conservation, and building new roads for farmers to reach markets, there is a high likelihood that famines would not be happening on such a regular basis, regardless of drought. So, even though I acknowledge how harsh this sounds, should we really be continually throwing money at a lost cause? Wouldn’t it be better to petition our government to apply pressure on the African Union to sort out their domestic affairs, thereby allowing international aid organisations to do their job? If only the AU could swallow their pride a little more and ask the UN for help (which I do concede has its own problems convincing Russia and China to ever take positive action!), then progress might be made on these issues. Therefore, as heartless as I now seem, I will not be contributing any money to charity for this famine.