48 Hours for East Africa

Hi all,

I wanted to bring your attention to an event that's happening this weekend -- 48 hours of Action for East Africa. This is an initiative that was started by the site Daily Kos. Several blogs are signed up to take part over this coming weekend, with the aim being to use digital channels to bring more attention to the food crisis, and to try and raise funds for the emergency relief of several organisations operating in the area. More info the attached press release. And if you do take part of the course of the weekend then please tag any posts / tweets with 48forEastAfrica

Additionally, Oxfam has just released a briefing on the relationship between climate change and the food crisis. It can be downloaded from -- http://www.oxfam.org/en/grow/policy/horn-africa-drought-climate-change-and-future-impacts-food-security

Some highlights of the briefing are:
* Reports from the Kenya Food Security Group and from pastoralist communities show that drought-related shocks used to occur every ten years, and they are now occurring every five years or less.
* According to meteorological data, temperatures have already increased -- mean annual temperatures increased from 1960-2006 by 1.0°C in Kenya and 1.3°C in Ethiopia.
* In the absence of urgent action to slash emissions, temperatures in the region will likely increase by 3°C-4°C by 2080-2099 relative to 1980-1999.
* Rainfall trends are unclear: Most projections, including those of the IPCC, suggest more rain will fall in the East Africa region as a whole. However, even if rainfall does increase, this will in part be offset by temperature rises which cause greater evapotranspiration.
* Developed countries must lead efforts to cut emissions, increasing their current targets to more than 40% below 1990 levels by 2020.
* The $100 billion per year committed for climate action in developing countries must now be delivered.
* National governments and the international community should dramatically increase long-term investment in pastoralists and smallholder food producers in the Horn of Africa.


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This press release is reprinted by Alanna Shaikh out of an obscure sense of guilt. It does not represent the opinions of Alanna Shaikh or any of her employers.