Desert locusts swarm the Horn of Africa

With the infestation of desert locusts in the Horn of Africa reaching critical levels, FAO Brussels Director Rodrigo de Lapuerta, updated the European Union Member States on the situation and efforts in countries affected by the locust upsurge. He addressed the Working Party on Humanitarian Aid and Food Aid of the Council of the EU on 14 February, after which Member States expressed their concern and confirmed their commitment to, and trust in, FAO’s work.

On 17 February, Dominique Burgeon, Director of the FAO Emergency and Resilience Division traveled to Brussels to brief Members of the European Parliament Committee on Development on the desert locust crisis and spoke about the need for quick and coordinated action to curb the spread of locusts while safeguarding livelihoods and providing opportunities to recover the livelihoods of those most affected.

FAO is appealing for USD 138 million to tackle the outbreak in the eight countries most affected. The European Commission has announced that they will contribute 11 million euro to FAO’s fight against the locust outbreak. The Kingdom of Belgium has already contributed 500 000 euro to FAO’s efforts through the Special Fund for Emergency and Rehabilitation (SFERA).