July 2011
The lives of more than 12 million people are at risk as a result of food shortages in east Africa. This emergency is caused by a complex combination of factors including: the worst drought in 60 years, poverty and marginalisation, high food prices and conflict.
Through our partners we are providing for the safety and immediate needs of those affected now, including in Dadaab refugee camp, home to nearly 400,000 people.
We need your support to prevent this emergency becoming a humanitarian catastrophe and to help affected communities re-build their lives and livelihoods, for the long term.
Why is there a food crisis now?
The rains have failed over the past two rainy seasons in parts of Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia. Although rainfall is unreliable in this region, the present drought is extreme.
In some areas it is the worst drought since records began in 1951.
Boreholes have run dry, livestock are dying and harvests have failed; many people are using up all their food reserves. The current drought shows the vulnerability of poor people in the region. It is hard to determine whether the drought is linked to climate change, but changes in weather patterns are leading to failed harvests and hunger.
Pastoralists in Ethiopia rely on access to land for their livestock, they move to reserve pasture nearer rivers during drought conditions. Pastoralists are finding that grazing land has been taken over for commercial farming, in some cases for non-food crops like biofuel.
Land has also been damaged by deforestation and loss of forest cover. This leaves pastoralist communities much more vulnerable to the affects of a drought and many are seeing all their animals die.
A rise in food prices of up to 300% has aggravated the situation, this is linked to the global markets and failed harvests.
The ongoing conflict in southern Somalia and ineffective governance there has left thousands of people vulnerable to the current drought. In addition, the military group Al Shabaab, which controls much of southern Somalia, has forbidden many humanitarian agencies from access to the area.
The situation may change in the current crisis, but provision of food and humanitarian assistance remains very difficult inside Somalia. This has caused thousands of people to leave their homes, land and livelihoods in search of safety, food and water.
Could the present crisis have been avoided?
Christian Aid and our partners have been preparing for the possibility of a disaster. In December 2009 the Early Warning System, put in place after the 1983-85 Ethiopian famine, predicted the possibility of a food crisis.
Our partners in Kenya and Ethiopia have long term projects to help those living in the most arid and remote areas to access clean water and to improve their ability to grow crops and to support their families.
At the end of 2010, the UN appealed for $500 million from member states to address food insecurity. Yet by the beginning of July 2011, only $250m had been received. Even now with the UN appealing for $1.6 million, there is still more than $800 million lacking. More pressure is needed to encourage the international community to respond and to provide the assistance needed.
