News

Worsening drought in Horn of Africa puts up to 20 million at risk: WFP |


UN agency warns time is running out, with Somalia facing “The Real Danger of Famine” in the next six months.

Meanwhile, an estimated 7.2 million Ethiopians do not have enough to eat, and half a million Kenyans are just one step away from hunger and malnutrition.

Initial action works

“We know from previous experience that acting early to avert a humanitarian disaster is critical, but our ability to deploy a response is limited by lack of funding to date,” he said. speak Michael Dunford, WFPEast Africa’s regional director.

The Horn of Africa suffered from drought in 2016-2017, but humanitarian assistance was expanded soon, thus saving many lives and averting devastating famine.

Since last year, WFP and its humanitarian partners have warned that the current drought could be catastrophic if the international community does not act immediately.

Three consecutive seasons of below-average rainfall have resulted in further deterioration of food security, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).FAO).

Many challenges

Dr Chimimba David Phiri, FAO Sub-Region Coordinator for East Africa, based in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, says this effect has been observed in livestock households.

Some three million pets have died He reports across southern Ethiopia and the arid and semi-arid regions of Kenya, while in Somalia up to 30% of household livestock has died since mid-2021.

“Furthermore, in addition to drought, many of the regions that we are concerned about are already facing conflict and insecurity, as well as macroeconomic challenges and rising food prices and, more recently, landslides. desert,” Dr. Phiri said, speaking to journalists in Geneva.


The South Omo region in Ethiopia is facing a severe drought.

© WFP

The South Omo region in Ethiopia is facing a severe drought.

Failure from the Ukraine conflict

The situation in the Horn of Africa has also combined with fallout from the war in Ukraine, as the cost of food and fuel continues to soar.

The WFP said countries affected by the drought are likely to be hit the hardest. The price of a food basket has increased, especially in Ethiopia and Somalia, which are heavily dependent on wheat imports from countries in the Black Sea region.

Dr Phiri added that FAO is also concerned about low fertilizer supply from the Black Sea region in the second half of the year.

“We believe that the Ukraine crisis has really taken away some of the light from the needs of the Horn of Africa.” he say. “It is important to the world that while they are looking at the needs of Ukraine, they are also looking at the needs of the Horn of Africa.”

Looking for more support

Both UN agencies are looking to scale up to support their activities. They fear that due to lack of funding, it will be difficult to face the looming humanitarian disaster.

“We must act now on a no-regret basis if we are to avert a humanitarian disaster, and we must dramatically scale up investments in resilient food systems.” Mr. Phiri said.

WFP last called for badly needed funding in February but received less than 4% of the amount needed. About $473 million is needed over the next six months.

FAO launched a $130 million drought response plan in January to support 1.5 million people. About $50 million has been received to date.





Source link

news7f

News7F: Update the world's latest breaking news online of the day, breaking news, politics, society today, international mainstream news .Updated news 24/7: Entertainment, Sports...at the World everyday world. Hot news, images, video clips that are updated quickly and reliably

Related Articles

Back to top button