While the rest of the world is going through devastating floods, East Africa is experiencing quite the opposite.
What’s happening
Many parts of northern Kenya have been hit by the worst drought in years. Some areas, such as central Kenya, which had previously enjoyed surplus food production and high yields, have seen crops dry up, harvests dwindle, and hunger increase.
Pastoralists who rely on livestock are fighting for their lives. Animals that were once a source of income can no longer be kept alive. Scavengers fight over the remains when they collapse.
In Somalia, according to Somalia’s Minister of Agriculture, Ahmed Madobe Nunow, the drought has affected 7 million people who are in desperate need of assistance.
Ethiopia, which is in the midst of a civil war between the central government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), is yet another country struggling to feed its people. Over one million people have been unable to receive assistance in the Tigray region alone. Famine is becoming more likely in East Africa as rains fall for the fourth year in a row. Violent conflicts in the Horn of Africa are undermining efforts to assist vulnerable populations.
What you should know?
East Africa experiences dry seasons on a regular basis. However, the situation has deteriorated in recent years. Food insecurity affects more than 50 million people in member countries Somalia, Kenya, Uganda, Djibouti, Ethiopia, South Sudan, and Sudan. Eritrea, the eighth member, was not included in the assessment.
Many parts of northern Kenya have been hit by the worst drought in years. Some areas, such as central Kenya, which had previously enjoyed surplus food production and high yields, have seen crops dry up, harvests dwindle, and hunger increase.