East Africa Crisis

East Africa is facing its worst drought in more than forty years.

Four consecutive rains have failed, and the fifth and sixth rainy seasons look like they will also fail to provide enough rainfall to meet the needs of the region.

The drought spans four countries – Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya and Dijibouti, and is affecting around 36 million people.

With the world’s attention on the conflict in Ukraine, what we are seeing unfold in East Africa is largely underreported.

Drought, climate change, and conflict are driving people from their homes. This has created a desperate situation for vulnerable communities who urgently need support.

Famine is close, and more people are leaving their homes and land in a bid for survival. People are dying, their livestock are dying, and they desperately need food, water, access to health services, and somewhere to stay.

Droughts are a natural part of our climate. Moving weather patterns like high temperatures and lack of rain define and influence droughts.

But the climate crisis is worsening extreme drought in some regions around the world, including the Horn of Africa.

Conflict in the region has been a long-standing driver of displacement. But extreme weather, made worse by the climate crisis, is damaging crops and killing livestock. Increasing temperatures and more extreme changes in rainfall patterns are worsening drought conditions. As a result, more people are on the move to find food, water, and somewhere to live.

These conditions can also lead to social unrest, famine, and migration.

Lack of food caused by extreme drought is a major factor driving displacement.

For example, in Somalia there are more than seven million people affected by the drought. Over a million people are displaced and many of them are still on the move as they desperately search for food, water, and grazing land for their livestock.

The conflict in Ukraine is severely affecting people facing extreme hunger across East Africa and other parts of the world.

Known as the world’s breadbasket, Ukraine supplied 10% of the world’s wheat before the conflict. The war has severely disrupted the supply. Ukrainian grain imports to Somalia and Ethiopia have stopped. Combined with the extreme drought conditions, this has led to escalating costs and a lack of food.

The higher cost of living is affecting many of us around the world. However, for people already on the brink of starvation, it has become a life-or-death situation.