Programs Current Crises
SITUATION
A severe multi-year drought is plaguing East Africa, where upwards of 23 million people are facing hunger, water shortages, disease and death. Refugees displaced by the drought are crossing international borders in search of food and water to feed themselves and their livestock. Leaving home, however, is not providing the relief they seek.
Kenya, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, Uganda and Djibouti have all been struck by drought. Although heavy rains are expected in late October, the fear of widespread flooding overshadows any hope of an increased yield in harvests.
DROUGHT LEADS TO HUNGER, DISEASE AND DISPLACEMENT
The drought has destroyed harvests and killed livestock, increasing food prices and forcing people to drink water from any available source, no matter how unclean. It has exacerbated hardships for people already displaced by conflict in the region.
An estimated 50,000-80,000 Somalis, fleeing both the drought and an ongoing war, have crossed into Kenya this year. According to the United Nations Refugee Agency, the total number of refugees and asylum-seekers in Kenya is now more than 380,000. But Kenya does not necessarily offer any relief as it has suffered from four years of insufficient rainfall. Kenya is already struggling to provide for an estimated 3.8 million of its own people in need of food assistance.
Meanwhile, in southern Sudan, conflict, poor rainfall and high food prices have left 1.3 million people in need of food assistance. “We need to act now to assist the increasing number of people facing serious hunger in southern Sudan,” said World Food Program (WFP) Sudan Representative Kenro Oshidari.
Oxfam has also warned that at least 6.2 million Ethiopians and 2 million Ugandans are at risk of hunger.
DROUGHT TIED TO CLIMATE CHANGE
Many UN agencies and aid groups are blaming the drought on climate change. These groups report that although the Horn of Africa faces drought cyclically, this is by far the worst in decades.
Although Africa is responsible for a fraction of the world’s carbon footprint, it is suffering the results of climate change disproportionately.
AID DESPERATELY NEEDED
UN agencies and aid groups, including UNICEF, WFP and Oxfam, have appealed for aid, warning that they are underfunded to meet the needs of those facing food shortages. “We are knocking on the door of a major regional crisis,” said Ramiro Lopes da Silva, WFP’s Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa. “The situation is not getting better – if anything, we’re seeing it get worse. We must all redouble our efforts to protect and assist the weakest.”
