- About 23 million people in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia are facing acute food insecurity.
- The worst drought in 40 years in the region has seen people lose cattle, crops, and entire livelihoods in the past three years.
- While current rains have brought some reprieve, it has also led to floods, leading to displacement, increased risk of disease, livestock loss and crop damage.
About 23 million people from Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia are facing acute food insecurity attributable to the worst drought in 40 years and raging floods.
According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the double whammy of disaster has left communities vulnerable having lost cattle, crops, and entire livelihoods.
“Over the past three years, communities have been forced to take extreme measures to survive, with millions of children and families leaving their homes out of pure desperation in search of food and water,” said Mohamed Fall, UNICEF Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa.
Floods worsening food insecurity
While the rains have brought some reprieve, it has also led to floods, worsening food insecurity. This is because the parched ground was unable to absorb large quantities of water when the rains started. Consequently, populations are grappling with further displacement, increased risk of disease, livestock loss and crop damage.
In Somalia, the rains have caused floods that have damaged homes, farmland and roads. The heavy rains have washed away livestock and led to closures of schools and health facilities. Initial estimates indicate that the flash and riverine floods across Somalia have affected at least 460,470 people, of whom nearly 219,000 have been displaced by floods. About 22 have lost their lives in the war torn country that now has to tackle food insecurity.
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Across Ethiopia, floods have caused widespread destruction and displacement in several regions. The flooding has worsened the vulnerability of populations that were smarting from the worst drought in a-half-century.
The floods have also worsened health risks, with reported cases of cholera.
“The rains have brought some relief and hope, but also new threats, and recovery doesn’t happen overnight,” said Fall. “It takes time for crops and herds to grow again, for families to recover from years of hardship. That’s why continued support is still critical.”
Children most vulnerable
Children in the Horn of Africa are living through an unprecedented large-scale crisis of hunger, displacement, water scarcity, and insecurity. More than seven million children under the age of five remain malnourished and in need of urgent nutrition support. Out of this about 1.9 million children are at risk of dying from severe malnutrition.
“The crisis in the Horn has been devastating for children. This crisis has deprived children of the essentials of childhood–having enough to eat, a home, safe water, and going to school,” Fall added.
The number of severely malnourished children seeking treatment in the first quarter of this year remains much higher than last year, and will likely remain high for quite a while.
On top of nutrition needs, extreme weather, insecurity and scarcity have also had devastating consequences for women and children, worsening the risk of gender-based violence (GBV), sexual exploitation and abuse.
Major outbreaks including cholera, measles, malaria, and other diseases are ongoing across the region, worsened by extreme weather conditions and fragile health systems. Food prices remain high in local markets, burdening children and families. The climate crisis is compounding the severity of the situation, worsening mass displacement, malnutrition, and disease.
“In 2022, donor support enabled us to provide services for the prevention of malnutrition to over 30 million children and mothers.
“This year, further flexible funding will not just help children recover from a crisis of this magnitude, but also go towards developing more resilient, sustainable systems for children in the region, that can withstand future climate impacts and other shocks. With the extreme weather cycles that we see today in the Horn of Africa, the next crisis may hit before children and families have had a chance to recover,” said Fall.
