When will the international community commit itself to eradicate poverty in the Horn of Africa? Hundreds of thousands of people in East Africa live in tent cities, terrorism is rife and countries in that region are declared failed or unsafe states.

We know about poverty in the Horn of Africa because thousands of Somalis and Eritreans have been saved at sea near our country and found refuge in Malta. Our contribution to East African poverty relief as a small island state can only be symbolic, although substantial per capita when compared to other European countries. Development assistance in large measure has to come from governments of the advanced countries, so that Somalia, Ethiopia and Eritrea may establish market economies in their countries and attract foreign direct investment to put agriculture, industry and services on a sound footing. In this way a stop is put at the flow of thousands of migrants who risk their lives each year to find refuge in European countries. Otherwise criminal and terrorist organizations will continue to flourish and the immigration saga to Europe will continue.

Another region lately in the news is the Philippines where thousands are feared dead as a result of Typhoon Haiyan which hit the country Friday 8 November. Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced from their homes and millions others have been affected. Massive international humanitarian aid is urgently required and will be sent by governments to meet pressing needs. NGO's and agencies working in the social sector will alert the public and start collecting contributions to relieve as much as possible the immediate suffering of these people so devastated by the typhoon.

However apart from relieving the immediate suffering of people in such dire circumstances, it is the responsibility of leaders of all countries – large or small – and the media, to raise their voices so that Climate Change is once more put high on the agenda in international fora to help  countries  affected  by natural calamities  caused  or magnified by global warming. In this way, people affected by such calamities can be helped to return to their way of life before the calamity. Much more importantly industry and pollution in the advanced countries  has to be regulated, so that the terrible consequences of global warming  may be minimized or averted. 

The Philippines is not – as yet - declared a failed or unsafe state but hundreds of thousands of Filipinos   will start living in tent cities and if they are not assisted to return to an organized way of life, they too will fall into the poverty trap. Criminality will become their main industry and immigration – regular and irregular - will feature  on a large scale  in their communities. Finally terrorism will rear its head. At such a stage then the leaders of the international community will declare the Philippines a failed and unsafe state!  What a paradox!