As global leaders meet in New York for this week’s Horn of Africa High Level Pledging Conference (24 May), Islamic Relief is calling on them to step up their “shameful” response to the world’s biggest hunger crisis.
Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya produce just 0.1% of global carbon emissions, yet people there are paying the highest price of climate change with the region suffering from the longest drought on record, which has wiped out crops and livestock and plunged millions of people into desperate hunger.
Tens of thousands of people have died so far – at least half of them young children. 43 million people – more than the entire population of Canada – now need aid and in Somalia alone nearly 2 million young children face life-threatening severe malnutrition. Food prices have spiralled out of reach for many of the poorest families. The agricultural sector – which in Somalia accounts for 26% of GDP, 90% of informal employment and 90% of its exports – has been devastated, and more than 13 million cattle have died. In recent weeks some communities have also been hit by flash floods, further exacerbating food shortages.
Yet despite the enormity of the crisis, the UN-led humanitarian response plan for the region has less than a quarter of the funding it needs to save lives and rebuild livelihoods.
At the conference, Islamic Relief is pledging £15 million ($18.6m) – more than some of the world’s richest governments have committed so far. Many of the highest-polluting and richest nations have failed to deliver adequate funds for the crisis.
Waseem Ahmad, CEO of Islamic Relief Worldwide, says:
“It is a shameful that much of the world continues to turn a blind eye to the terrible suffering in the Horn of Africa. People in the region are incredibly resilient but nobody can cope with five consecutive failed rainy seasons and the destruction of their entire livelihoods. People here contribute the least to climate change but they are suffering its worst consequences.
“As global leaders meet in New York, families in Somalia are making impossible choices about which child gets to eat today. People’s lives are at stake at this conference.
“When aid arrives it has made a real difference. It has saved many lives and helped aid agencies to stop parts of Somalia falling into famine. But too often it comes too little and too late. Now funding is decreasing again and the threat of famine remains very real.
“More long-term investment is needed in people’s livelihoods. Even if this year’s rains are good, it will take several years for farmers and pastoralists to replenish their crops and herds and rebuild their livelihoods. The quicker that funds reach the ground the more effective they will be.”
Islamic Relief is calling for donors to make multi-year and flexible commitments so that humanitarian agencies can plan for long-term support and effectively adapt to the evolving situation. Pledges should be dispersed quickly rather than waiting until the end of the year, in order to maximise impact.
Islamic Relief’s own pledge comes from generous donations from the public and our supporters around the world, and will expand our current work to provide aid including healthcare, nutrition and cash to people in Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya.
Islamic Relief’s drought response in the region has so far helped 496,000 people by providing food and cash, improving water supplies, vaccinating cattle to protect them from disease and training health workers to treat malnourished children.
Notes to editors
- The High Level Pledging Event on the Horn of Africa is being held in New York on 24 May, convened by the UN Secretary General and the governments of the US, the UK, Italy and Qatar, in collaboration with the governments of Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia. https://www.unocha.org/horn-africa-conference-2023
- The overall UN-led 2023 response plan for the crisis is just over US$ 7 billion across Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia. According to the United Nations Financial Tracking Service, so far US$ 1.63 billion has been committed (23% of the total). https://fts.unocha.org/ (as of 22 May, 2023)