Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Trump envoy Witkoff has sent 'detailed and acceptable proposal' to Iran for nuclear deal; it's in their best interest to accept it: White House Press Secretary Leavitt
Hamas official says Witkoff's position toward group was 'unfair' and shows 'complete bias' to 'Israel'
Hamas official says it has considered Witkoff's proposal acceptable for negotiations, says 'Israel's' response was incompatible with what the group agreed on
Hamas official says group has not rejected Wikoff's proposal for Gaza ceasefire
Witkoff: 'That is the only way we can close a 60-day ceasefire deal in the coming days in which half of the living hostages and half of those who are deceased will come home to their families'
Witkoff: 'Hamas should accept the framework proposal we put forward as the basis for proximity talks, which we can begin immediately this coming week'
Witkoff calls Hamas response 'totally unacceptable'
Israeli PM says 'Israel will continue its action in Gaza for the return of hostages and defeat of Hamas'
Israeli PM says Hamas is continuing its refusal of Witkoff proposal for Gaza
Received document: Cessation of military operations by both sides for a long-term period of 5-7 years, guaranteed by mediators

Horn of Africa drought drives 20 million toward hunger

  • By Al Mayadeen Net
  • Source: Agencies
  • 4 May 2022 08:35
  • 2 Shares
4 Min Read

Up to 20 million people are on the brink of hunger from extreme drought in different African regions, from Ethiopia to northern Kenya and Somalia.

  • x
  • Horn of Africa drought drives 20 million towards hunger
    Horn of Africa drought drives 20 million toward hunger.

Drought has wrecked swaths of land across the Horn of Africa, from southern Ethiopia to northern Kenya and Somalia, putting 20 million people at risk of hunger.

Last week's donor meeting garnered about $1.4 billion for the region, which the UN claims is experiencing its worst drought in 40 years.

People in the affected areas make a living mostly through herding and subsistence farming.

They are in the midst of their fourth straight dry season since the end of 2020, which has been aggravated by a locust infestation that has wiped out crops between 2019 and 2021.

"The number of hungry people due to drought could spiral from the currently estimated 14 million to 20 million through 2022," the UN's World Food Programme (WFP) said last month.

Six million Somalis, or 40% of the population, are facing significant food insecurity, and there is a "very serious risk of famine in the next months" if current conditions continue, according to the UN humanitarian response agency OCHA.

Read next: UN: Drought worsens in the Horn of Africa, putting the lives of 13 million at stake

Another 6.5 million Ethiopians and 3.5 million Kenyans are "acutely food insecure," according to the report.

According to OCHA, a lack of water and pasture has driven one million people from their homes across the region, and at least three million head of livestock have died.

Related News

500 Turkish ground forces arrive in Somalia amid al-Shabab attacks

RSF, allies, formalize vision for a parallel government: Report

"We must act now... if we want to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe," the Food and Agriculture Organization's representative to the African Union, Chimimba David Phiri, said at a UN briefing in Geneva in April.

Extreme weather events, according to experts, are becoming more frequent and intense as a result of climate change.

The deterioration of conditions in the Horn of Africa has been exacerbated by the conflict in Ukraine, which has led to rising food and fuel prices, disrupted global supply networks, and diverted assistance funds away from the region.

Children aid 

According to UNICEF executive director Catherine Russell, ten million children in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia require immediate life-saving assistance as a result of the crisis.

"Overall 1.7 million children are severely malnourished across the sub-region," she said in a statement after a four-day visit to Ethiopia last week.

East Africa experienced a devastating drought in 2017, yet early humanitarian intervention saved Somalia from famine.

However, according to the UN, 260,000 people died of starvation in the turbulent country in 2011, half of whom were children under the age of six, in part because the international community did not intervene quickly enough.

Animal kingdom threat

Aside from the direct and potentially fatal repercussions for those affected, a lack of water and grazing land is a source of inter-communal strife, particularly among herders.

The drought also poses a hazard to the animal kingdom. Cattle, an important source of livelihood in the region, are dying in large numbers.

Wildlife is also a danger. Many wild species, such as giraffes and antelopes, have died in Kenya due to a lack of water and food, their carcasses decaying on barren scrubland.

In times of drought, wild animals will leave their typical habitat in search of water or food, often venturing closer to developed areas.

Big cats have attacked livestock herds in central Kenya, while elephants and buffaloes have taken to grazing in fields, infuriating locals.

  • Horn of Africa
  • famine
  • Africa
  • Ethiopia
  • Somalia
  • World Food Programme
  • Kenya

Most Read

US judges quietly consider private security amid Trump tensions

US judges quietly consider private security amid Trump pressures

  • US & Canada
  • 25 May 2025
President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrive to a news conference in the East Room of the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025, in Washington (AP)

Rift widens: Trump, Netanyahu clash in heated phone call over Iran

  • Politics
  • 26 May 2025
An Israeli army vehicle moves in the Gaza Strip as seen from southern occupied Palestine, Thursday, May 29, 2025 (AP)

Hamas rejects Witkoff ceasefire plan, says alters terms

  • Politics
  • 29 May 2025
Spokesperson for the Yemeni Armed Forces, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, announces a new operation against Ben Gurion Airport on May 29, 2025 (Yemeni Military Media)

Yemen announces successful hypersonic missile strike on Ben Gurion

  • Politics
  • 30 May 2025

Coverage

All
War on Gaza

Read Next

All
Doctors weigh a Palestinian baby at the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) clinic in Muwasi, near Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, Tuesday, April 8, 2025 (AP)
Health

US-Israeli Gaza aid plan is catastrophic, inhumane: MSF

Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike on Latakia governorate on May 30, 2025 (Social media)
Politics

Israeli airstrikes hit military targets across western Syria

An Iranian security official in protective clothing walks through part of the Uranium Conversion Facility just outside the Iranian city of Isfahan, March 30, 2005. (AP)
Politics

US, E3 to push IAEA to declare Iran in breach of nuclear commitments

A Syrian soldier closes the gate of a military base on the outskirts of Harasta, near Damascus, Syria, Saturday, May 3, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Syrians expel Israeli patrol in Quneitra amid rising tensions

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS