The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) is calling on the international community to commit more resources to combat the drought ravaging the Horn of Africa.
IGAD Executive Secretary Dr. Workneh Gebeyehu says the region has faced unprecedented challenges over the past two years due to a persistent and prolonged drought, marked by five consecutive below-average rainfall seasons.
The situation has led to reduced crop and livestock production, resulting in increased food insecurity.
Dr. Gebeyehu says that 47 million people are highly food insecure with 70 per cent of them living in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia.
“We solemnly call on the international community to help us prevent a major humanitarian disaster by committing requisite resources to save lives and livelihoods in the short-term, and continue investing in resilience building in the medium and long-term,” Dr. Gebeyehu said.
He stated that the heavy rainfall recently recorded may not reflect the overall performance of the season.
The biting drought according to Gebeyehu has led to severe water and pasture shortages, displaced one million people, and resulted in the death of over 10 million livestock and wildlife deaths.
In some pastoral and agropastoral areas of Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia, Dr. Gebeyehu warns that the risk of famine is real.
He adds that Kenya requires US$378 million to provide food, water, and vaccination to the affected counties until October 2023 while the neighboring Ethiopia is in need of US$710 million to support key sectoral needs in the coming four months.
Dr. Gebeyehu adds that Somalia needs US$1.6 billion to provide food and non-food items to the drought-affected communities and Internally Displaced People (IDPs).
“Our recovery will require resources and time, and we must work to prevent future disasters from having such severe impacts,” he said.
