WFP Regional Bureau for Eastern Africa: Drought Response in the Horn of Africa – Situational Report #2 (December 2022)
Overview
• Across the Eastern Horn of Africa, levels of food insecurity have been on the rise, leaving more than 22 million people in the Horn of Africa hungry and in need of food assistance. This is an increase from the 13 million acutely food insecure in the first quarter of 2022. Food insecurity is driven by consecutive below-average rainfall seasons, which has resulted in catastrophic drought. This has resulted in unparalleled levels of acute food insecurity in southern and southeastern Ethiopia, the arid and semi-arid lands (ASALs) of Kenya, and across most of Somalia. The ongoing drought has also led to a reduced local food supply to markets thus exerting upward pressure on food prices.
• The recent 2022 October-December (OND) rainfall season was erratic making the region to experience long-term rainfall deficits. Long-lead forecasts for the 2023 March-May rainfall season also indicate an increased probability of below-average rains, risking the occurrence of six consecutive seasons of drought in affected areas.
• Since January 2021, up to 1.77 million people have been internally displaced across the three countries due to drought with Somalia recording the highest number of drought-induced internal displacements at 926,000.The displaced people face challenges accessing adequate food, water, sanitation, hygiene (WASH), nutrition, and health services making them vulnerable to water-borne and other infectious diseases. Many recently displaced people face a sudden loss of their livelihoods and lack consistent access to humanitarian food assistance and disruption of markets and social services.
• The ravaging drought has caused the death of over 9.5 million livestock, which pastoralist families rely upon for sustenance and livelihoods across the region, translating to the loss of more than 120 million litres of milk, leaving 1.6 million children under the age of five years across the region without a daily glass of milk, according to FAO, with severe consequences for their nutrition.2
Source: World Food Programme