After four seasons of insufficient rains, the region has more than 14 million people in acute food insecurity.
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The food insecurity trained by the drought that has affected the Horn of Africa since the fall of 2020 has already assigned 6 million people in Somalia, nearly 7 million in Ethiopia and 3.5 million in Kenya, according to the United Nations. If the rains do not intensify by the end of the month, the situation may worsen.
Since the start of this new episode of drought, a million inhabitants have left their home for lack of water or pastures but also because of the Tiger’s war in Ethiopia and the violence of the Somali terrorist group Chabab. East Africa already has more than 12 million internal or refugee displaced people in another country.
The United Nations raised nearly $ 1.4 billion to international donors on April 26 to face the crisis. The World Food Program (PAM), which is concerned about the risk of famine – in particular in certain parts of Somalia – needs $ 470 million by September to finance food aid in the three countries. The evolution of the crisis is suspended from several factors.
drought, locusts and conflicts threaten agricultural production
In most arid or semi-arid areas in the region, farming remains the main livelihood. However, more than three million cattle heads have been decimated for lack of fodder in the horn of Africa. Pluvial agriculture practiced in certain regions of Kenya, Ethiopia and in northern Somalia has also been affected by the lack of water. The levels of agricultural production are historically low. In the most affected areas, harvests fell 60 to 70 % compared to usual standards, according to PAM.
The region has also undergone several waves of migration of pilgrims from the Arabian peninsula which have weakened local cultures. Just in Ethiopia, these pest insects led to the loss of more than 350,000 tonnes of cereals, the destruction of nearly 200,000 hectares of cultivated land and more than a million hectares of pastures. The countries of the region have implemented an early alert system on the movement of these insects in order to better prepare for them by deploying insecticides and crop protection nets.
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