More than 37 million people are facing severe hunger, with around seven million children under the age of 5 severely malnourished in the region.
While finding safe food and water is a priority, WHO say ensure a strong health emergency response is necessary to prevent preventable morbidity and mortality.
The UN agency is calling 123.7 million dollars to meet the growing health needs and prevent a food crisis from turning into a health crisis.
“The situation was dire, and We need to act now”, said Ibrahima Soce Fall, WHO Assistant Director-General for Emergencies Response. “We cannot continue in this financial crisis.”
Severe drought
The Horn of Africa includes Djibouti, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Uganda and Kenya.
Climate change, conflict, rising food prices and COVID-19 The pandemic has combined into one of the worst droughts in the region in recent decades, according to WHO Stunning,
“There have been four rainy seasons that have not come as predicted and the estimated fifth season also failed. Where there is drought, the problem continues to get worse and worse,” said WHO Incidents Director Sophie Maes.
“In other places like South Sudan, there have been three consecutive years of flooding with almost 40% of the country flooded. And we’re looking at something will get worse in the near future. “
IOM
Thousands of animals have died as a result of the extreme drought that devastated Somalia and the rest of the Horn of Africa.
Hunger crisis
More than 37 million people in the region are forecast to reach the third level of the Integrated Food Security Stage (IPC3) classification scale and higher in the coming months.
This means that populations are in crisis and can only meet their minimum food needs by depleting essential livelihood assets or through crisis response strategies.
The effects of drought are particularly severe in eastern and southern Ethiopia, eastern and northern Kenya, and southern and central Somalia.
Food insecurity in South Sudan has reached its worst level since independence in 2011, with 8.3 million people or 75% of the population facing food insecurity. serious.
Cost of inaction
According to WHO, acute malnutrition leads to increased migration as populations move in search of food and pasture.
And disruptions often lead to poor sanitation and hygiene as outbreaks of infectious diseases, such as cholera, measles and malaria, are on the rise.
Furthermore, weak immunization coverage and under-resourced health services can lead to large-scale outbreaks of disease within the country and across borders.
Caring for severely malnourished children with medical complications will be seriously affected and lead to high child mortality.
Disruptions in access to health care can further increase morbidity and mortality, as emergency conditions force people to change their health-seeking behavior and prioritize health care. access to life-saving resources such as food and water.
