NAIROBI – In mid-2017, when a cholera outbreak in Somalia threatened to overwhelm local hospitals, health experts feared the worst. With crippling drought, malnutrition, and poverty already endemic, an outbreak of deadly diarrhea seemed destined to paralyze the fragile state. But, despite the dire predictions, institutional paralysis was avoided. Although hundreds died and many more became sick, the collective response managed by governments, NGOs, and local communities, including the national Red Crescent Societies supported by the Red Cross movement, contained the disease.

Somalia’s experience gives me great hope for Africa’s future. But it also serves as a reminder that local capacity is easily inundated during times of crisis. While some parts of Africa have become self-sufficient in terms of public health, others continue to lean heavily on global aid. For these areas, partnership is the best means of minimizing risks.

In particular, three key challenges this year are likely to pose the severest tests of Africa’s ability to manage humanitarian crises.

The first challenge is violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Last year, conflict in the DRC’s central Kasai region displaced some 1.4 million people, bringing the total displaced population to 4.1 million – the largest concentration of internal refugees anywhere in Africa. The violence has exacerbated food insecurity, with more than three million people severely undernourished.

Unfortunately, the Kasai crisis is expected to worsen in 2018. A recent assessment by the Red Cross Society of the DRC warns that the number of people displaced will continue to rise, and with a fast-spreading cholera outbreak threatening the region, a coordinated plan of action is urgently needed.

The second challenge this year is Somalia’s food insecurity, which, according to the Famine Early Warning Systems Network, is expected to intensify this year. Below-average rainfall in 2017 stunted harvests, and most regions have not fully recovered. As humanitarian aid is channeled to the country, efforts must be made to target long-term solutions, such as improving agricultural output, educational access, and economic opportunity. Historically, most aid to the country has been earmarked for emergency relief; even the collective cholera response was narrowly focused on short-term health. But Somalia desperately needs a more holistic, long-term development strategy.

Read more: Three Humanitarian Challenges for Africa in 2018 

Source: project-syndicate.org