• News
  • Sport
  • TV
  • Radio
  • Education
  • TV Licences
  • Contact Us
  • SOUTH AFRICA
  • POLITICS
  • BUSINESS
  • SPORT
  • AFRICA
  • WORLD
  • FEATURES
  • OPINION
No Result
View All Result
1
Home Africa

Twelve million people in Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia need food assistance : FAO

18 October 2021, 6:53 PM  |
Sarah Kimani Sarah Kimani |  @SABCNews
People wait for food assistance in Ethiopia

People wait for food assistance in Ethiopia

Image: Reuters

People wait for food assistance in Ethiopia

At least twelve million people in Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia are in urgent need of food assistance following a prolonged dry spell and the expected short rain season. That’s according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation’s (FAO) Early Warning systems experts. This, even as the World Bank warned that the frequency of droughts in Sub Saharan Africa nearly tripled between 2010 and 2019, with last year being the continent’s warmest since 1910.

In Kenya, President Uhuru Kenyatta has declared the ongoing drought, which has affected at least two million people, a national disaster but international humanitarian assistance has been slow to reach those in need as the world focuses its attention on other crises. Northern Kenya and the devastating effects of a prolonged dry spell are clear. Livestock carcasses dot the dry parched landscape. The Horn of Africa is once again facing a severe drought, less than two years since the last.

“It’s all about recurrence of shocks and until 20 years ago you would have a drought coming into the region on a recurrence of three to five years. It’s true that this has definitely has increased and now we can see a shock every year and in some areas. I look at Somalia, there is a recurrence of a shock every year and in some areas, there are two shocks within the same year,” says Regional Early Warning Expert at FAO, Sergio Innocente.

SABC News Sarah Kimani on the crippling drought:

International, regional and local organisations have sounded the alarm over the hunger situation in the Horn and East African region, as a result of climate change-related drought, a desert locust invasion, and conflict in some countries as well as economic shocks brought about by COVID-19.

“If we only look at Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia, we are already handling a caseload of close to 12 million people. We can see temperatures rising and this is affecting the normal cropping patterns of farmers especially subsistence farmers in the region,” Innocente added.

Getting the much-needed humanitarian assistance fast to those affected by the near-constant drought situation in the region is however taking a back burner as the world grapples with other crises putting millions of lives at risk. Regional East Africa group, IGAD has warned parts of South Sudan are at risk of famine.

“If we look at the response plans of Somalia and Ethiopia, those are heavily underfunded at the moment, and then we have Kenya which has been craving attention since the beginning of the year, this is not something that has happened,” Innocente explains.

With forecasts of below-average rains, humanitarian agencies are warning that time is fast running to save lives and livelihoods of affected communities most of them pastoralists and agro-pastoralists.

VIDEO: Ongoing drought conditions in Kenya this year:

 

Share article
Previous Post

Paediatric Association encourages dialogue around COVID-19 vaccines

Next Post

EFF say killing of KZN ward candidate is politically motivated

Related Posts

Surviving migrants, from the boat lost at sea during July and found in Cape Verde with several survivors, arrive on the runway at the Dakar-Ouakam Air Base, in Dakar, Senegal August 21, 2023.

Senegal navy intercepts migrant boats as more risk perilous journey

1 October 2023, 4:22 PM
The logo of Credit Suisse is seen outside its office building in Hong Kong, China, August 8, 2023. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu/File Photo

Credit Suisse, Mozambique reach out-of-court ‘tuna bond’ settlement

1 October 2023, 1:00 PM
Ladies hold the DRC flag

Congolese opposition leader Fayulu confirms he will run for the presidency

30 September 2023, 7:12 PM
A dried out maize crop due to drought

Tunisia extends drinking water quota system, ban on agriculture use

30 September 2023, 3:40 PM
An employee restocks the dairy products section at a supermarket in Nairobi, Kenya May 8, 2017. Picture taken May 8, 2017.

Kenya inflation rises to 6.8% year over year in September

30 September 2023, 1:31 PM
A woman makes her mark at a voting booth during the parliamentary election, in Lesotho's capital, Maseru.

Lesotho holds Local Government Elections

30 September 2023, 9:49 AM
Next Post
Thulani Shangase's family members sit in a room, devastated by his death, October,18, 2021.

EFF say killing of KZN ward candidate is politically motivated

Most Viewed

  • 24hrs
  • Week
  • Month
  • Mandla Mandela urges respect for Zoleka’s peaceful rest
  • Six beaches in Durban flagged with high levels of E.coli
  • Visitors planning to visit the Overberg region urged to postpone their trips
  • Golden Arrow bus overturns as heavy rains continue in Cape Town
  • ‘Medupi power station has turned the corner’
  • High waves and rough water conditions force beach closures in the Western Cape
  • Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi to rest in the town he built and nurtured
  • NSPCA files criminal case against Julius Malema for alleged animal cruelty
  • Snow, heavy rainfall expected in parts of KZN: SAWS
  • Cold-front sweeps across SA bringing snow and chilly temperatures
  • Izinduna must help Gauteng govt in crime fight: AmaZulu King
  • SA has the seventh highest level of organised crime in the world
  • Springboks will this evening fight to remain in the World Cup
  • Msukalikwa Local Municipality to face criminal charges
  • Five killed in Kagiso vehicle crash

LATEST

People look at the new iPhone 15 Pro as Apple's new iPhone 15 officially goes on sale across China at an Apple store in Shanghai, China September 22, 2023.
  • Business

Apple identifies issues causing overheating in the iPhone 15


File Photo: People protest against gang violence
  • South Africa

Several schools in Gqeberha riddled with gang-related violence


Bullet cases and a crime scene tape
  • South Africa

Shooting incident claims five lives in Gugulethu


Surviving migrants, from the boat lost at sea during July and found in Cape Verde with several survivors, arrive on the runway at the Dakar-Ouakam Air Base, in Dakar, Senegal August 21, 2023.
  • Africa

Senegal navy intercepts migrant boats as more risk perilous journey


Pic depicting a drowning for illustrative purposes
  • South Africa

Two children drown while kayaking in Plettenberg Bay


Learners in a classroom at a Gauteng school.
  • South Africa

Basic Education to address what it terms ‘unusual behaviour at schools’


Weather

  • About the SABC
  • Contact Us
  • Jobs
  • Advertise
  • Disclaimer
  • Site Map

SABC © 2023

No Result
View All Result
  • SOUTH AFRICA
  • POLITICS
  • BUSINESS
  • SPORT
  • AFRICA
  • WORLD
  • FEATURES
  • OPINION

© 2023

Previous Paediatric Association encourages dialogue around COVID-19 vaccines
Next EFF say killing of KZN ward candidate is politically motivated