Hunger crisis in the ‘Horn of Africa’ affects 22 million people!

The number of people facing starvation in the drought-stricken Horn of Africa has risen to 22 million, according to the UN World Food Programme (WFP). Years of insufficient rainfall in Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia have resulted in the worst drought in 40 years, with famine-like conditions in the hardest-hit areas, according to aid organizations.

Millions of livestock have been killed, crops have been destroyed, and 1.1 million people have been forced to flee their homes in search of food and water, resulting in an unprecedented four failed rainy seasons. The world must act now to protect the most vulnerable communities in the Horn of Africa from the threat of widespread famine,’ WFP executive director David Beasley said.

‘With no end in sight to the drought crisis, we must mobilise the resources needed to save lives and prevent people from succumbing to catastrophic levels of hunger and starvation’. At the start of 2022, the World Food Programme warned that 13 million people in the three countries faced starvation and urged donors to open their wallets in this time of great need.

However, funds were slow to arrive, with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, among other crises, diverting attention away from the disaster in the Horn, according to humanitarian workers. Russia’s invasion also caused global food and fuel prices to skyrocket, increasing the cost of aid delivery. By the middle of the year, when rain failed to return to Kenya, Ethiopia, and Somalia, the number of people in desperate need had risen to 20 million, and famine warnings had become more urgent. According to the World Food Programme, at least 22 million people may face starvation by September.

‘This number will rise further, and the severity of hunger will worsen if the next rainy season… fails and the most vulnerable people do not receive humanitarian assistance,’ the World Food Program said in a statement. ‘ Needs will continue to be high into 2023, and famine is now a serious risk, particularly in Somalia,’ where nearly half of the 15 million-person population is severely malnourished.

The World Food Programme estimated that $418 million would be required over the next six months to assist the most vulnerable. Last month, the US announced a $1.2 billion emergency food and malnutrition treatment package to help avert famine in the Horn of Africa, and urged other countries to do more.