from MARIA MACHARIA in Nairobi, Kenya
Kenya Bureau
NAIROBI, (CAJ News) – THE World Food Programme (WFP) seeks US$327 million to avert another major humanitarian crisis in the Horn of Africa.
An estimated 13 million people in the region are faced with acute food insecurity and severe water shortages due to drought.
This follows three consecutive poor rainy seasons.
The funds are urgently needed to support almost 4.5 million people affected by the drought.
As of January 2022, the most severely affected regions are in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia.
Current meteorological forecasts indicate the region will experience warmer than normal temperatures over the January-March 2022 dry season.
“Should this forecast materialise, it will likely drive even higher food insecurity across the three countries,” said a WFP spokesperson.
Drought is affecting areas of the Horn of Africa which over the past year have also been impacted by conflict, flash floods, high food prices, desert locust infestations and socio-economic implications of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The frequent and often overlapping presence of shocks makes it harder and harder for families to recover and build resilience,” the WFP spokesperson lamented.
WFP believes responding now will prevent the depletion of productive assets, the dramatic worsening of food security outcomes, and escalating levels of acute malnutrition.
“By front-loading relief in the first part of the year, more efficient use of resources can help prevent what may otherwise become a costly response later in 2022,” the spokesperson stated.
– CAJ News