Donations from the UK public to the emergency appeal for people suffering from severe food shortages in East Africa have now exceeded £15 million.
The worst drought in 60 years has devastated cattle and crops in parts of East Africa, creating a humanitarian emergency, with problems expected to be compounded by a poor harvest.
More than 10 million people in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, and the newly-formed Republic of South Sudan have been left in need of food, water and emergency healthcare.
Chief Executive of the Disasters Emergency Committee Brendan Gormley said: “Desperation has forced thousands to leave their homes to seek help in the towns or camps, but some of the most vulnerable have been unable to make the long and arduous journey. Children and older people with weakened immune systems are often not strong enough to reach our agencies to access the care they desperately need. In some areas of Borana in Ethiopia for example, aid agencies report that the proportion of older people has risen from around five per cent to up to half the population.”
“The more money we raise, the more lives we can save in the short term, and the more help we can give people to rebuild their lives in the long term. It’s vital that people keep giving,” he added.
Acute malnutrition has reached 37 per cent in some parts of north-east Kenya, more than double the 15 per cent emergency threshold set by the World Health Organisation (WHO). Refugees are dying of causes related to malnutrition, either during the journey or very shortly after arrival at aid camps.
In Kenya, more than 1,400 people a day, eighty per cent of whom are women and children, continue to arrive in the Dadaab refugee camp near the border with Somalia. Many arrive after days or weeks of walking.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to flee Somalia due to the drought and conflict. Rising food prices, even in cities and towns, across the region have also added to the food crisis. Many families have been left unable to afford even one proper meal.
The DEC East Africa Appeal in Britain has been presented by actors Jason Isaacs and Fay Ripley, actor and comedian Lenny Henry and broadcaster and journalist Kate Adie.
CHRISTIAN AID RESPONSE
Jonny Hanson (Appeals Development Assistant) reports that Christian Aid is responding to the east Africa food crisis and has launched an emergency appeal to help people affected across the region.
£130,000 has been released immediately for partners to respond as the situation intensifies in Kenya and Ethiopia.
Drought and displacement
Drought and displacement combined with rising food prices has left the east and the horn of Africa, especially Kenya and Ethiopia, in need of urgent humanitarian support. UNOCHA (The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) reports that the situation is the worst food security crisis in the world today and some parts of the region are experiencing the driest conditions in 60 years.
After two poor rainy seasons, drought in countries affected has left 10 million people in need of humanitarian assistance. At the same time Christian Aid is concerned that large numbers of people who have been displaced within Sudan and from Somalia are also facing food shortages.
Christian Aid staff in the region are reporting cases of malnutrition in children and adults, and people begging for water on the side of the road. Even animals which are normally resistant to drought such as camels, donkeys and goats are suffering. Due to the lack of water, some schools and hospitals have been forced to close and people are travelling for miles to collect water to drink.
Christian Aid partners are responding
Our partners in Ethiopia, Sudan and Kenya are closely monitoring the situation. This appeal will fund urgently needed life-saving measures, such as:
• emergency tanks and distribution of water for villages experiencing the worst of the drought conditions
• construction of additional water points
• food for families who currently are not reached by the World Food Programme response
• extra nutrition for malnourished children and pregnant women
• animal feed to protect livestock that are so crucial to survival
• helping communities become more resilient to future crises.
Activities will be carried out by partners across the region. Our partners Christian Community Services Mount Kenya East, Northern Aid and Ukamba Christian Community Services are responding in north eastern and eastern Kenya. In Ethiopia, our partners Action for Development and Agri-Service Ethiopia are currently working with local communities in the south to help them to withstand the effects of crises such as drought.