UN to launch East Africa drought appeal

ActionAid Press Release

East Africa drought crisis worsens as people wait for rain

Tomorrow the UN is launching a flash appeal for the East Africa drought. The appeal comes at a crucial time, in some of the worst hit areas the rains are showing signs of failure and livestock deaths in the Mandera, Wajir and Isiolo regions of Kenya are estimated at 80 per cent.

Hannah Crabtree, who has recently returned from a trip to northern Kenya, said: As I drove up to Mandera the stench of rotting carcasses was all around. Herds of cattle, sheep and even camels have died. The local people are totally dependant on their animals and many have been left destitute, reliant on emergency supplies of food and water. Even if rains do come, with their animals gone, people will continue to need help for many years to come.

In Kenya it is estimated that 3.5 million people are desperately short of food as the region faces its worst drought in 20 years. It has been estimated that, even if rain comes, it will take 9 years for people to recover from the damage already done to livestock and crops.

Sophia Sheikh Ibrahim lives with her husband and their 10 children in a newly settled village in the Mandera district of northern Kenya. Nomadic people have settled in the village because they have lost their cattle and are now dependent on emergency relief supplies.

She said: We used to live in the bush with the animals but now they have died we have no way of survival. Our 50 camels are all gone. With the animals dead we have had to move to town so we can get help. I have never had to ask for help before - the animals used to provide us with what we needed.

Since the animals have died there is little hope. Our life without the camels and goats feels like no life at all. All we can do is stay here and wait for help. Even if it rains we will have no milk.

ActionAid has provided Sophias village, of about 2,500 people, with emergency supplies of food and water, and is transporting 80,000 litres of water into the village and surrounding areas every day. The organisation is also launching emergency relief programmes in Tanzania and Burundi.

* ActionAid works in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas to fight global poverty and tackle the injustice and inequity that cause it.