Posted on 28 March 2022
The Horn of Africa is expected to feel the tremors of the intensifying crisis in Ukraine, especially as the prices of food, oil, and fertilizer rise. Parts of the East Africa region— including those in Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya — are already experiencing the worst drought in decades, coupled with an underfunded humanitarian response. The price of wheat and oil has already risen by 300% in Somalia.
The Ukraine crisis appears to have struck a chord with Pacific Island countries, and is receiving wide coverage across the Pacific, and especially, Papua New Guinea. Pacific states are attentive to the conflict unfolding in Ukraine because their sovereignty and territorial integrity could also easily be violated in possible geopolitical confrontation in the region. When the international order is undermined, it is usually small states that seek assurances to promptly redress that order to ensure their own prospects of survival.
In other Ukraine related news, Save the Children refused a large donation for Ukraine from Neptune Energy, as it has changed its policy on taking donations from fossil fuel companies.