Horn of Africa Drought

According to UN Agencies, an estimated 13 million people are waking up hungry every day across the Horn of Africa, as the region grapples with severe drought, and nearly 5.5 million children are threatened by acute malnutrition. The Horn of Africa is experiencing the driest conditions recorded since 1981, with severe drought leaving an estimated 13 million people across Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia facing extreme hunger, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) alerted today (08 Feb) at a news briefing in Geneva. "The United Nations World Food Programme WFP is today warning an estimated 13 million people are waking up hungry every day across the Horn of Africa as the region grapples with severe drought caused by the driest conditions since 1981," said WFP's spokesperson Tomson Phiri. The drought affects pastoral and farming communities, and malnutrition rates are high in the region. Shortages of water have decimated crops and caused abnormally high livestock deaths. WFP is appealing for US$327 million to respond to the drought. "What is particularly striking about this drought is its breath. Livestock are dying, and that is devastating for pastoral families. Pastoralists have watched their livestock die", reported Phiri, who has just returned from a mission to the affected region. He added that "after three consecutive failed rainy seasons, harvest are up to 70% below the norm in affected areas. Now, food and water prices are skyrocketing significantly. This is affecting families' ability to buy". Furthermore, Mr. Phiri said that "staple cereal prices have risen between three to fivefold above typical levels in several markets. Rising cereal prices and declining lives to prices means a sharp decline in terms of trade." Across the three drought-affected areas, WFP provides short-term lifesaving food and nutrition assistance to affected communities. Additionally, WFP offers cash grants in the long term to build resilience among farming communities where less rain and more drought could, with climate change, become the norm. Immediate assistance is critical to avoid a major humanitarian crisis like the world witnessed in 2011, where 250,000 people died of hunger in Somalia. Mohamed Malick Fall, Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), added that "there are millions of lives are hanging in the balance. The needs are massive and urgent, and they are quickly outpacing the available funds to respond. We need to act now and to prevent really a catastrophe." Further forecasts of below-average rainfall threaten to worsen and compound the dire conditions in the upcoming months. "UNICEF projects that up to 20 million people in Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia will need water and food assistance in the next six months. And that is almost the same amount of people as the population of Greece and Sweden – combined, " said Malick Fall. He added, "right now, nearly 5.5 million children in these four countries are threatened by acute malnutrition and an estimated 1.4 million children by severe acute malnutrition". He added that "UNICEF fears this number will increase by 50 percent if the rain doesn't come in the next three months." Many children are at more significant risks due to one of the worst climate-induced emergencies of the past 40 years. UNICEF warns that the region cannot cope with another storm, combining COVID 19, conflict, and climate change. In Somalia alone, an estimated 1,3 million children under five years of age are at risk of malnutrition, including 295,000 severe cases. "Families are taking extreme measures to survive and in many cases leaving their homes, which puts children on the move at particular risk," said Fall. "This is a crisis that requires a collective response – ensuring access to clean water, nutrition, and safe spaces for children." UNICEF's appeal is now at US$ 123 million for Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, and Kenya to cover lifesaving needs for the most vulnerable till the end of June 2022.