“About five million children under the age of five are estimated to be facing acute malnutrition in 2023 in the Horn region, within the Greater Horn. That’s about 10.4 million, that’s just a staggering number,” said Liesbeth Aelbrecht, an expert at the World Health Organization (WHO).WHO) incident manager for the greater Horn of Africa emergency.
Three years tall
“What our colleagues are seeing in clinics and hospitals, since the beginning of this year, is the highest levels of severely malnourished children currently coming to these facilities with medical complications since the crisis began three years ago.”
Responding to that warning, the World Food Program (WFP) Senior Emergency Officer Dominique Ferretti says that nearly three years of drought has given way to devastating rains and flash floods: “Although we have just ended a rainy season that has turned out better than anticipated, One rainy season is not enough to end the crisis.”
Women fetch water in drought-stricken Marsabit in northern Kenya.
Though the long-awaited rains arrived in March across the eight-member Intergovernmental Agency for Development (IGAD) region – including Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda – and with it the hope of relief, in a flash- floods flooded homes and farmland, swept away livestock and closed schools and medical facilities.
The result is the highest number of reported disease outbreaks in the Horn of Africa greater than so far this century. Their frequency can be directly linked to extreme climate events, according to the United Nations health agency.
Ms Aelbrecht noted ongoing cholera and measles outbreaks, along with “very high numbers” last year and this year, including cases of malaria.
“Therefore, with the impact of flooding, we see these diseases get worse. Malaria, I would remind you, is one of the biggest killers in the region.”
Climate complications
Climate concerns are key to food security In the coming months, the United Nations Food and AgricultureFAO) was noted at a press conference in Geneva.
Global projections indicate that El Nino-type weather conditions have emerged and will strengthen for the rest of the year, possibly bringing above-average rainfall. during the rainy season from October to December throughout the eastern parts of the region, including much of Kenya, the Somali region of Ethiopia and Somalia.
“El Niño may reduce flood risk somewhat Brenda Lazarus, Food Security and Early Warning Economist at FAO’s East Africa Subregional Office.
However, she points out that “in terms of risk, below-average rainfall and drought, along with other causes of food insecurity, is likely to have a negative impact on agricultural production and livelihoods.” alarmingly increased.
Investment is key
FAO emphasizes the need to move from a system focused primarily on emergency response to Anticipating and mitigating crises through investment such as in harvesting rainwater, conserving soil and water, or using crops that are more drought tolerant – and making sure seeds are locally available.
The UN agency notes that engaging young people in the construction of bunkers can also strengthen community resilience.
60 million people are severely food insecure, including more than 15 million women of reproductive age, 5.6 million adolescent girls and nearly 1.1 million pregnant women.
Nearly 360,000 of them are expected to give birth in the next three months, according to the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
The women forced to forage to survive “do so at the expense of their own health,” said Michael Ebele, UNFPA’s Regional Humanitarian Advisor for East and South Africa.
Increased risk of death
“So we’re seeing pregnant women not getting prenatal care, not getting care for other illnesses they might have. And then that comes with the risk of complications… increased risk of maternal mortality.”
Malnutrition in pregnant and lactating mothers puts unborn children and nursing infants at risk of malnutrition and increases malnutrition. through the entire life cycle in communities.
Malnourished mothers are also less likely to suffer complications during pregnancy that put them at higher risk of losing their baby.
“Because of the limited amount of resources, we have seen an increase in the risk of survival during sex”, Ms. Ebele said, “increases the risk of sexual exploitation and abuse, especially for women and girls”.
cereal initiative threat
When asked by journalists how badly the Horn of Africa would be affected if UN-brokered Black Sea Initiative to facilitate Ukraine’s grain exports to the world market not being extended next month, WFP’s Mr Ferretti replied that “the reality is that Ukraine is the breadbasket, the main supplier and it will hit us hard if this Black Sea initiative is not renewed“.
