Drought and Famine Plague Horn of Africa

Lack of rain and violent conflict in Somalia have caused hundreds of thousands to leave their homes in seek of safe refuge at camps in Ethiopia and nearby Kenya.

Drought, food shortages and violence are deadly combination

	The United Nations said it was struggling to keep up with an exodus of hungry Somali refugees and many emaciated children were dying of malnutrition along the way or after arriving in neighboring countries.

Over the past year, temperatures have been on the rise and rain has been nearly nonexistent. Even for this notoriously dry climate, the current conditions are so extreme that this has been declared the worst drought East Africa has seen in 60 years.

No rain = no food

The lack of rainfall has created a water shortage in the area; leaving land too dry to grow crops for food. Cattle and other livestock are dying of dehydration and malnutrition. According to a recent report, food prices have quadrupled in the area, making it increasingly challenging for people to adequately feed themselves and their families.

Conflict in Somalia

Since 2006, Somalia has been engaged in a violent internal conflict between its own national government and the anti-government group named al Shabaab. With links to the terrorist organization Al-Qaeda, al Shabaab has initiated numerous bloody attacks on the traditional Somali government attempting to take control of the country.

The threats posed by al Shabaab also affect the public, as the terrorist group often will kill and wound innocent Somalis as a way of spreading fear. Al Shabaab leaders have also intercepted food and refused some aid, saying it would encourage dependency on other nations.

Refugee camps swell in response to crisis

	United Nations recently reported that 2 million young children across the Horn of Africa are malnourished and urgently need lifesaving actions.

The harsh conditions have mobilized hundreds of thousands of East Africans to seek out temporary housing and care in refugee camps in Kenya and Ethiopia—areas also hard hit by the drought.

The Dadaab camp located in Kenya is brimming with over 380,000 refugees; over four times the number of people it was built to hold. Thousands more arrive each week, and many are children.

Witnesses report some young and elderly trying to reach the camps have not survived the long arduous journey from home.

In some cases, families are even forced to leave younger children behind. The United Nations recently stated that “2 million young children across the Horn of Africa are malnourished and urgently need lifesaving actions.”

World mobilizes to address the growing crisis

	The UN’s chief adviser on the Millennium Development Goals, Jeffrey Sachs said, "We've been warning, almost day in and day out, of the growing calamity of the dry lands of Africa, and most of this has fallen on deaf ears in Europe and the United States among people who should know better."

The United Nations, International Committee of the Red Cross, USAID, CARE, as well as many other humanitarian organizations are trying to provide food, shelter, and assistance to refugee camps in Ethiopia and Kenya.

Diplomats at the UN compared the unfolding humanitarian disaster to Ethiopia's devastating 1984 famine.  A year into that famine, shocking photos of starving children mobilized grassroots organizations around the world, and in the U.S., musicians Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie brought together popular musicians of the day to record the original “We Are the World” song, which raised millions for the relief effort. 

The UN’s chief adviser on the Millennium Development Goals, Jeffrey Sachs, said the world should have learned from that experience, but didn’t.

"We've been warning, almost day in and day out, of the growing calamity of the dry lands of Africa, and most of this has fallen on deaf ears in Europe and the United States among people who should know better," he said at a press conference in the capital of Kenya, Nairobi.

"We can never address these problems through emergency response. We have to solve these problems through prevention," Sachs said. "Prevention means development, especially sustainable development.”