UUSC Situation Report: Drought and Famine in Eastern Africa

On July 20, the United Nations declared catastrophic famine in two regions of Somalia, Bakool and Lower Shabelle, with 3.2 million people — half of the Somali population — at immediate risk of death from starvation. This is the world's worst food security crisis in the last 20 years; the last major famine was in the Horn of Africa in 1992. Seeking food and medical care, malnourished Somalis are walking into Ethiopia and Kenya at the rate of 3,500 per day, overwhelming existing camps set up for refugees and famine relief. UUSC is consulting with its partners and sister agencies in the region to determine the best course of action.

Much of the Horn of Africa and East Africa have been affected by failing rains and severe drought, which is causing food shortages. The reason the famine is so catastrophic in southern Somalia is that years of conflict and statelessness have stripped away people's ability to withstand shocks to their livelihood. People have lost crops, assets, and security to warring factions. There has been no government to step in and provide assistance when it was still possible to ameliorate the effects of the drought.

Currently 3.2 million people in Somalia require lifesaving assistance; 2.8 million of them are in southern Somalia, which is embroiled in armed conflict. It has been extremely difficult for humanitarian organizations to access the civilians in these areas because of the armed conflict — making an already terrible situation catastrophic. Al-Shabaab, the armed group controlling many of the areas in the south, has announced they will now allow humanitarian groups access to the drought areas, and U.N. agencies and relief organizations are poised to enter if they can be guaranteed safety. Aid agencies have moved in to work in Mogadishu in the areas controlled by the Transitional Federal Government, where large numbers of people internally displaced by drought have already moved.

Meanwhile, as the famine gets worse in Bakool and Lower Shabelle, the rest of southern Somalia and neighboring regions of Ethiopia, Kenya, and Djibouti — more than 11.5 million people — are suffering severe food insecurity. The famine is now expected to spread across all regions of southern Somalia and perhaps beyond to Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Kenya in the next two months.

The growing food crisis in these countries, particularly Ethiopia and Kenya, is exacerbated by the number of famine survivors pouring into drought-affected areas in search of aid. Somali refugees are walking for miles to reach the Dadaab refugee complex in Kenya, which is the largest refugee camp in the world, now hosting 383,000 people (four times the number of people originally planned). It is in an area also suffering the effects of the severe drought. Refugees are also pouring into camps in Ethiopia, all of which are now well over capacity and side by side with host populations that are also suffering food insecurity. The combination of large numbers of famine survivors arriving in overpopulated camps in regions where people are already suffering from severe food shortage and lack of water and medicine is a recipe for disaster.

UUSC is also concerned about the probability that the drought will increase in severity in areas where the organization is working in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, and Sudan. Partners in these areas have already reported problems with failing rains and food shortages.

Situation in areas where UUSC works

• Kenya: The Kenyan government has declared the ongoing drought a national emergency. The situation is particularly acute in the northern and western part of the country. The Kenya Red Cross Society reports severe water scarcity, death of livestock, increasing malnutrition, and community-level conflict over rapidly declining resources. People are selling assets and leaving their homes as food and fuel prices steadily rise.


• Tanzania: In the northern part of the country, bordering Kenya, the government is distributing food relief to six regions suffering from the drought conditions and facing acute food shortages. The government has banned the sale of food crops outside the region as well as the use of grain for brewing alcohol. There is severe electricity rationing in order to save the water remaining in the country's hydroelectric dams.


• Uganda: Communities in northern Uganda, where torrential rains over the last few years have caused severe disruption to farming and other livelihoods, are now facing drought conditions and failing rains that have led to a shortage of food items and increased food prices.


• Sudan: Predicted decreases in rainfall across the Sahel have raised concerns for ongoing peace efforts in Darfur, where competition for resources has been a driving force behind the conflict.

UUSC's Rights in Humanitarian Crisis team is currently researching the situation and will keep constituents updated.

Sources: OCHA Situation Report No. 5 (21 July 2011) [PDF], Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWS Net), Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit (FSNAU).