Three years have passed without a real rainy season and the region has recorded its driest conditions since 1981, according to the World Food Programme.
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The Horn of Africa is experiencing its worst drought in decades. Under these conditions, 13 million people in Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia are facing severe famine, the World Food Program (WFP) warned on Tuesday 8 February. The UN agency calls for “immediate humanitarian action” to avoid a repeat of a crisis like that of Somalia in 2011, where 250,000 people died of starvation during a prolonged drought.
“Crops are ruined, livestock are dying and hunger is on the rise as recurrent droughts affect the Horn of Africa”, explains Michael Dunford, regional director of the World Food Programme, in a press release. While the region experienced three years without a real rainy season, recording its driest conditions since 1981, the drought destroyed crops and caused animal mortality “abnormally” high, forcing rural families who live from animal husbandry and agriculture to abandon their homes.
According to the World Food Programme, $327 million is needed to meet immediate needs over the next six months and help pastoral communities become more resilient to recurring climate shocks. According to experts, extreme weather events are occurring with increased frequency and intensity due to climate change, and it is Africa that bears the brunt of them, despite being the continent that contributes the least to the Global warming.
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