According to United Nations reports, Africa is the continent most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, even though it contributes only 4 percent of global carbon emissions.
Worst drought in 40 years
- The Horn of Africa is witnessing the worst drought in more than 40 years, extending across the East African region from Eritrea in the north, through Ethiopia and Djibouti to the southern outskirts of Kenya and Somalia.
- For 4 consecutive seasons, rain has been poor in parts of Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya.
- The October-December 2020, March-May 2021, October-December 2021 and March-May 2022 seasons witnessed below-average rains, leaving large areas of Somalia, southeastern Ethiopia, and northern and eastern Kenya in the face of the most prominent drought in 40 years.
- The rainy season from March to May 2022 is the driest on record, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
- The current rainy season is expected to be poor (5th consecutive season), which will keep the food security needs of communities in the Horn of Africa high until 2023, and worsen food security and water scarcity, with more than 90 percent of Somalis already suffering from severe drought. According to the FAO Water and Land Information Management Project.
In numbers, the specter of famine threatens the Horn of Africa
- Drought and water scarcity threaten at least 18.4 million people with acute food insecurity, and malnutrition is increasing across Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia.
- This number may rise to 20 million as rainfall continues to decline.
- According to the agricultural production adviser to the German Society for International Cooperation “GIZ” in Somalia, Abdelaziz Mohamed Ali, the drought and reduced periods of rain, in addition to the decline in the water level in the Juba and Shabelle rivers, led to the deterioration of agricultural lands and the bankruptcy of many small farmers and the abandonment of agricultural work.
- The Somali agricultural expert explained that the decline in rainfall was reflected in the capacity of groundwater wells, which in turn witnessed a decrease and drought, which negatively affected the residents of areas that depend on groundwater.
- Drought threatens at least 7 million Somalis with severe food insecurity as of last July, including 918,000 displaced from their homes, according to a report by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Somalia, while the Nairobi-based Africa Center for Strategies and Policies estimated the number of internally displaced people at about 2.6 million. Somali since October 2020.
- 115,000 new displacements were recorded last June, a monthly increase of 230 percent, of which 113,000 were caused by drought, according to the UNHCR-led Protection and Return Monitoring Network.
- Also, about 7.2 million people in Ethiopia and about 4.1 million people in Kenya are severely food insecure due to drought.
How do livestock losses affect children?
The drought has cast a shadow over livestock. At least 7 million head of livestock on which families depend for their sustenance and livelihood have died across the Horn of Africa, including more than 1.5 million in Kenya, and between 2.1 and 2.5 million 1 million in southern and southeastern Ethiopia, and 3 million in Somalia.
The decline in livestock has affected children’s access to milk, and thus reflected on their nutrition in the three countries (Kenya – Somalia – Ethiopia), where more than 7.1 million children suffer from acute malnutrition, according to UNICEF.
drought solutions
In order to confront the drought that hits Somalia, agricultural production adviser to the German Society for International Cooperation, Abdelaziz Mohamed Ali, says that “the Somali federal government, state governments, international institutions and relief agencies must take a rapid response to the drought-affected communities, to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe.”
He explained that this is done “by prioritizing water-related issues, including the rehabilitation of infrastructure, the distribution of temporary water storage facilities, and the trucking and delivery of water to families.”
The Somali agricultural expert also called on the concerned authorities to “distribute animal feed to rural communities affected by drought to save livestock in the country.”
He also stressed “the necessity of prompt attention and work on the proper management of the existing limited water resources, and maximizing the utilization of them in accordance with modern and advanced methods in this field.”
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has appealed for $42.6 million in urgent support to help displaced people, local communities and those affected by drought in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia.
According to UNHCR, the funds will “help meet the immediate needs of just over 600,000 refugees in these countries, as well as their host communities.”
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