Horn of Africa: Past, Present and Future

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Crisis and Response, One Year LaterLast summer, Action Against Hunger responded to a food crisis so severe that it dominated international headlines for weeks. Periods of drought throughout East Africa had been growing more frequent and intense for years. Finally they become unen-durable. Many thousands were dying across a region that included Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya and Djibouti. The United Nations declared a famine in June of 2011, hoping to save some of the millions more who faced imminent starvation.

Thanks to you and countless other generous individuals and organizations, Action Against Hunger was able to help more than 500,000 people in this region survive in a period of acute, genuinely life-threatening deprivation. While the daily lives of many traditional farmers and herders across the Horn of Africa remain challenging by any standard, your giving extended a lifeline that has made it possible for them to regain a piece of what they lost in the crisis, and even to replenish some food stocks that will help in weathering the next dry season.

The Horn of Africa has historically coped with periods of extremely dry weather, but the depth of last summer’s suffering was beyond the lifetime experience of all but the eldest of the region’s farmers and herders. Compounding the problem, Somalia, at the center of the crisis, had been plagued by 20 years of internal conflict, resulting in both domestic instability and refugee issues throughout the region.

While this crisis is no longer officially termed a famine, deaths from starvation sadly continue in particularly hard-hit areas. With your support, we have been able to remain in the region, committed to meeting the critical needs and enhancing the long-term wellbeing of its people.

Thank you for helping us keep that commitment.

Nan Dale, CEO, Action Against Hunger

Photo: Somali refugees. ACF-Ethiopia, S. Hauenstein-Swan

Since 2011, Action Against Hunger’s field teams have assisted more than 500,000 people in Somalia, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Kenya. Today, our teams continue to aid hundreds of thousands of people affected by the crisis.

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Emergency�response:●  184,094 people helped by ACF in 2011

●  In Mogadishu, 21,000 children under 10 treated for malnutrition

Emergency�response:●  4,000+ people helped in 2011●  104 national health workers trained in ACF methods and best practices

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“ The lack of rain has resulted in a catastrophic situation. When the cattle communities depend on for their livelihoods died, they found themselves without any means to survive and increasing numbers of families began to move in search of food and water. Every day we are witnessing the arrival of hundreds of people, exhausted, in rags, barefoot and hungry. We count more than 210 refugee camps around Mogadishu, the Somali capital, alone. We are working tirelessly to assist families whilst dealing with the complexities of delivering humanitarian aid in Somalia. The situation can change every minute, and nothing is ever a foregone conclusion. One thing is certain though - we will continue to do everything in our power to help people through this crisis and beyond.”

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Moussa was 10 months old when the drought was at its worst and suffered from severe acute malnutrition. His mother, Aisha, explains: “My son may have developed malnutrition after being sick with other diseases. It comes after he spent a week in hospi-tal with severe diarrhoea and vomiting. Hygiene conditions here are terrible. We currently have no water and no latrines, people are forced to defecate in the streets at night. I have to buy very expensive containers of water.”

Along with limited access to clean water, prices of basic goods such as gas, sugar, oil and rice have increased significantly, with many families no longer able to afford to feed themselves.

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Emergency�response:●  273,467 people helped in 2011●  At Hiloweyn refugee camp, home to thousands of displaced Somalis, ACF has treated more than 22,000 children under five years of age

 

Emergency�response:●  Over 200,000 have received assistance since 2011

●  43,600 have received special training to improve their livelihoods and access  to food ©

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EthiopiaThree�malnourished�children�in�one�familyIn better times, Abdimatan and his wife, Saidia, owned seven camels in Somalia and fed their family milk, corn and potatoes. However, when the drought intensified they lost all of their livestock and livelihood. They fled their home along with their children Mohamed, 3, Hassan, 5, and Ali, 7, abandoning all their possessions to make the long and exhausting journey to the Ethiopian refugee camps of Dollo Ado.

Mohamed and Hassan both suffered from life-threatening severe acute malnutrition. Their brother, Ali was diagnosed with moderate acute malnutrition. All three children were assessed by Action Against Hunger teams upon arrival at the Hilowyen refugee camp and were immediately admitted into nutrition programs for treatment. We were able to stabilize their conditions and help them regain weight as we monitored their conditions weekly.

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Chole Abasare spends most days working on her small plot of land in Garbatulla, Kenya. Drought has intensified over recent years, causing growing food insecurity and forcing cattle farmers in the region to find alternatives to survive. Action Against Hunger has helped members of Chole’s community establish vegetable gardens, providing tools and seeds of crops that are resistant to water shortage, as well as training.

Chole says: “I am a widow and mother of two children. Now I weed, plant and harvest in my green garden with my corn plants, carrots, peas, spinach and water melons.”

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What�does�the��future�hold�for�the�Horn�of�Africa?

“Answers to the food crisis do exist” says Youcef Hammache, Desk Officer for Action Against Hunger. “Beyond the on-going emergency response, it is paramount to implement programs that  will  have  medium  -  and  long-term  impact  as  people have lost all or part of their livelihoods. We are supporting pastoral communities to invest in gardens, where we focus on sustainable answers, such as planting seeds resistant to water shortages,  and  developing  irrigation  systems  and  rainwater storage devices.”

Action Against Hunger is committed to ensuring that families across the Horn of Africa are able to return to autonomy and self-sufficiency as soon as possible. Disaster Risk Management programs  are  enabling  communities  to  protect  themselves against future crises, to reduce the impact of natural disasters on  local communities and to  support vulnerable  families  in adapting to difficult living conditions. 

Improving the resilience of communities affected by extreme climate  shifts  is  essential  to  ensuring  access  to  food  and good nutrition. Action Against Hunger employs a community approach to the care and treatment of malnutrition by training local medical personnel  to  identify and  treat malnourished children  for  the  long  term,  as  well  as  encouraging  social cohesion  around  the  shared  responsibility  of  maintaining improved water sources and food storage.

Action Against Hunger would like to thank all individuals and organizations in the United States and abroad who have supported the East Africa Emergency Appeal, including: American Fund Advisors, Caroline R. Berlin, Alan Carniol, Charity Global, Inc., Children’s Safe Drinking Water Fund, Mark Cochran, Coppel Corporation, Rebecca Dicola, Fairl Charitable Fund, Elizabeth Fenzel, Hope Through Healing Hands, Curtis Mathewson, Share Our Strength, Rona Shedid, Steven Stuff 

Financial�ReportBy the end of September 2011, ACF International had raised more than $22.7 million in funds for the East Africa crisis. These funds are dedicated to nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene and food security programs in Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya and Djibouti. 

Water, Sanitation & Hygiene

Nutrition & Health

Food Security & Livelihoods

83.25�%

1.75�%15�%

Private SupportGovernment Grants

59�%

41�%

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