Nearly 20 million people in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia are in urgent need of aid
***Islamic Relief spokespeople are available in Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia***
Islamic Relief aid workers in Somalia are witnessing shocking scenes of children dying from hunger and others arriving in camps on the verge of death after walking for days to try to find food, as parts of the Horn of Africa plunge closer to famine.
The number of people fleeing drought-hit villages has almost quadrupled in recent weeks, and across Somalia more than one million people have now fled in a desperate search for food and water. 66% of them are children, according to the latest data analysis.
The Horn of Africa is in the midst of the worst drought in decades, as an unprecedented four successive failed rainy seasons has wiped out people’s crops and livestock. The most recent rainy season was the driest in 70 years. On top of the drought, the crisis in Ukraine has pushed the price of food and fuel to record levels – more than 90% of Somalia’s wheat supplies come from Russia and Ukraine and the price has doubled in tripled in many markets, while the price of rice went up 28% in just the last week. The new Russia-Ukraine grain deal is welcome news but has not yet made a difference for most people.
Islamic Relief is launching an urgent appeal to raise US$ 32 million so that the charity can scale up assistance for affected communities in parts of Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia. Nearly 20 million people across the region are now in urgent need of aid, but the UN’s humanitarian appeal has less than one third of the funding it needs.
In the worst-affected parts of Somalia, almost 4,000 people are now being uprooted every single day – up from 1,100 a day in May – with families trekking for days in scorching heat with only a few wild berries to eat as they try to reach rapidly growing camps. Many young children and elderly people have died from hunger and thirst on the journey, while others are so weak and emaciated when they arrive that they can barely even stand up.
Islamic Relief teams are providing food, water and other essential aid, but much more is needed.
Aliow Mohamed, Islamic Relief’s Country Director in Somalia, recently visited camps in Baidoa, southern Somalia, where 500,000 displaced people are now sheltering. He says:
“What we see here is beyond our imagination, it’s a situation of nightmares. We see children dying in front of us from hunger and illness, and others surviving on just a handful of tiny wild fruits which have barely any nutritional value. We meet grieving parents who have lost their children on the way, and women who have given birth without any healthcare or clean water.
“Hundreds more people are arriving here every day. Many of them haven’t eaten at all for several days and are on the verge of death when they arrive. When they do get here, the situation inside the camps is horrendous – there’s very little food, drinking water or latrines, and diseases spread very fast. Children are dying from acute diarrhoea or getting skin diseases like scabies because of the lack of clean water. People urgently need more aid.”
Jowhara Mo’allim Harad, 35, arrived in Bulo Isack camp with five of her children. Another daughter, 3-year-old Amina, died on the six-day walk from their village.
“My children didn’t eat anything today except for a handful of wild fruits. That’s all I could prepare for my children to survive. We’ve been here for seven days and there are lots more people on the way, looking for food because of the drought.”
Yusuf Roble, Islamic Relief’s Head of Region for East Africa, says the cumulative effect of four failed rains has left many people with little option but to flee to camps:
“People here are extremely resilient and can find ways to cope with the most incredible hardships. One or two poor rains makes life very difficult but people find ways to recover. But four failed rains is virtually unprecedented in our lifetimes. Their crops and livestock have died and there is no respite from the drought and no chance to recover. People here are at the forefront of suffering from the devastating impact of climate change.
“A decade ago, in 2011, more than 260,000 people died in the Somalia famine because the world didn’t fully respond until it was too late. Right now we are already seeing children and elderly dying in front of us, yet the lessons of the recent past are not being learnt. The simple fact is that aid can save many lives if it comes now, but the humanitarian response is critically underfunded.
“We pray that this emergency appeal will enable us to get more life-saving food, water and other critical aid to people across the region.”
Across affected parts of Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia, Islamic Relief is distributing food and cash, providing water, vaccinating livestock and treating malnourished children. Since last year the charity has raised $13 million from supporters and donors around the world to support this response, but it is now appealing for another $32 million given the scale and severity of the crisis.
Notes
The UN’s 2022 humanitarian appeals for the region are dangerously underfunded. The Ethiopia appeal has received 30% of the funding it needs, while Kenya and Somalia have received 16% and 34% respectively.
