Famine in the Horn of Africa

Posted by Craig Clarke 
on Jan 14, 2012
 

The deadliest weather disaster of 2011 was a quiet one that got few headlines--the East African drought in Somalia, Kenya, and Ethiopia.

On July 20 2011, the United Nations officially declared famine in two regions of southern Somalia, the first time a famine has been declared by the UN in nearly thirty years. Almost 30,000 children under the age of five were believed to have died of malnutrition in Somalia this summer, and the total death toll of this great drought is doubtless much higher.

East Africa has two rainy seasons--a main "long rains" of March - June, and the "short rains" of October - November. The "short rains" failed in the fall of 2010, and when the main "long rains" in spring 2011 also failed, it brought one of the worst droughts in recorded history. The 2010 - 2011 drought was rated along with the droughts of 1983 - 1984 and 1999 - 2000 as one of the three most significant droughts of the past 60 years.

It was the driest 12-month period on record at some locations in East Africa. Damage assessments from the drought are not yet available, but it would not be a surprise if the drought of 2011 was the costliest weather-related natural disaster on record for Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya.

 

 

On December 13, 2011, the UN and aid agencies called for US$1.5 billion to continue addressing the world’s largest humanitarian crisis in Somalia, where four million people lack basic necessities such as food, water and shelter.

 
“With the humanitarian situation expected to remain critical well into next year, early and full funding is essential,” said the Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, Mark Bowden, at the launch of the 2012 funding appeal for Somalia in Nairobi. “The Somalia crisis is everybody’s responsibility and Somalis need support now. We cannot afford to wait or we will let down the Somali people.”
 

Amidst drought, famine and conflict, tens of thousands of Somalis have already died this year while almost 300,000 have sought refuge in neighbouring countries such as Kenya and Ethiopia. Despite a recent drop in the number of famine-stricken areas last month, a quarter of a million people in southern Somalia are still coping with famine.


Sponsors