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
Lebanese Ministry of Health: One person was killed in an Israeli airstrike on a car in the town of Burj Qalawieh, south Lebanon.
Al Mayadeen correspondent: The first ship of the Maghreb fleet delivering aid to break the siege on Gaza departs from the port of Gammarth in Tunisia.
Channel 12: Airspace closed at Ramon Airport due to fears of drone infiltration
IOF Spokesperson: Sirens sounded over an aircraft infiltration in the Bir Ora area, and details are being examined
Drone infiltration sirens sound north of the Gulf of Aqaba
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Gaza: The Israeli occupation carried out five extremely violent raids on the western areas of Gaza City
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Gaza: The Israeli occupation carried out major bombings in the Gaza Strip, the most violent since October 7
Yemeni Armed Forces spokesperson Brigadier General Yahya Saree: The missile force carried out a major operation using the Palestine 2 ballistic hypersonic missile, hitting several targets in occupied Yafa.
Sirens sound in large areas of occupied Palestine after a missile launch from Yemen was detected
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: 14 martyrs arrive at al-Shifa Hospital following Israeli massacre of al-Sultan Family north of Gaza.

Horn of Africa drought drives 20 million toward hunger

  • By Al Mayadeen Net
  • Source: Agencies
  • 4 May 2022 07:35
  • 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

Africa leads world tourism growth in early 2025, UN reports

16 dead, 400 wounded in Kenya violent protests

"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

The damaged building in the Katara neighborhood, Doha, Qatar, September 9, 2025 (Social media)

Hamas delegation survives Israeli assassination attempt in Qatar

  • Politics
  • 9 Sep 2025
Israeli police and rescue teams respond at the scene of a shooting attack where several people killed and injured in Jerusalem, Monday, Sept. 8, 2025 (AP)

Al-Quds shooting: 7 settlers killed, several critically injured

  • Politics
  • 8 Sep 2025
Pro-"Israel" conservative Charlie Kirk shot during Utah speech

Pro-'Israel' far-right Charlie Kirk shot dead during Utah speech

  • US & Canada
  • 11 Sep 2025
Uprising against Volker Turk at the Human Rights Council over Gaza.

Uprising against Volker Turk at the Human Rights Council over Gaza

  • Politics
  • 12 Sep 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
People protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, in New York, on Friday, September 27, 2024 (AP)
Politics

'Israel' stops unfunded diplomacy ahead of UN, October 7 memorial

An Israeli Air Force fighter jet releases flares over the Gaza Strip, is seen from southern occupied Palestine, Thursday, May 8, 2025 (AP)
Politics

OIC summit draft: Israeli attack on Qatar risks normalization

People shout slogans and hold Palestinian flags while protesting during the twenty-first stage of La Vuelta cycling race from Alalpardo to Madrid, Spain, Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025. (AP)
Sports

Pro-Palestine protests force abrupt end to Vuelta a España finale

Damage is seen after an Israeli strike targeted a compound that hosted Hamas' political leadership in Doha, Qatar, on Wednesday, September 10, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Israeli regime faces growing isolation over Qatar strike: Reports

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