Ebola affecting Africa's Capacity to feed itself

By Atayi Babs

Experts at the Climate Change conference in Marrakech, Morocco have expressed concerns about Africa's capacity to feed itself if the current outbreak of Ebola virus disease is not effectively tackled.

For months now, quarantine zones and restrictions on movement imposed to help contain the Ebola disease have severely hampered the transport and sale of food. Consequently food prices have gone up, particularly in West African countries, as panic buying and shortages have set in. At the same time, getting access to food has become a pressing concern for many people in all the three worst-hit countries.

The price of cassava, for example, rose by 150% in the first weeks of August in the Liberian capital, Monrovia.

Ms. Olushola Olayide, representative of the African Union Commission (AUC) at the conference, confirmed that concrete steps including the appointment of a Special Envoy and a delegation to affected countries have been taken and other areas of intervention are being considered by the AUC. "Africa can overcome Ebola drawing valuable lessons from Nigeria's successful containment of the outbreak," Ms. Olayide added.

Mr. Abdalla Hamdok, Deputy Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA), believes Ebola to present a very serious challenge to the continent. "This is the fourteenth outbreak of the disease since 1976 and it is an extreme case for solidarity as this is the first time it is breaking in urban centres," said Mr. Hamdok.

Ebola will definitely have an impact on Africa's capacity to feed Africa if we don't contain the outbreak as quickly as possible, said Mr. Tosi Mpanu Mpanu, Member of the Governing Board of the African Risk Capacity (ARC). "The fight against food insecurity and poverty will become even harder in view of the restrictions and challenges the disease imposes on manpower and resource mobilization," said Mr. Mpanu Mpanu, who is also a member of the African Group of Negotiators (AGN).

The UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has warned that Ebola outbreak is putting food harvests in West Africa "at serious risk".

In its special alert for Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, the three countries worst affected, FAO revealed that rice and maize production will be particularly affected during the coming harvest season and food shortages are expected to worsen in the coming months.

The outbreak has killed at least 1,550 of the 3,000 people in four countries since March - the worst Ebola outbreak in history.