Drought Grips East Africa
Hunger is becoming a daily reality for a growing number of people in East Africa,. Their food supply increasingly is strained by a lack of rainfall and rising food prices, CRS staff members in the region are reporting .
“Rains last fall failed completely,” says CRS Africa Team Leader Brian Gleeson. “And spring rains earlier this year were erratic and weak. As a result, farmers have experienced horrible harvests and pastoralists are seeing their livestock dying off.”
This drought—–it’s one of the driest years in the region since 1950-1951–—has combined with increased food costs to put 10 million people across the Horn of Africa in need of humanitarian assistance. Most live in Kenya and Ethiopia, countries where CRS has a large presence, with many programs focused on water and agricultures. Kenya is further burdened by an influx of refugees from Somalia, many leaving in search of food due to drought there.
CRS staff, including the Nairobi-based Emergency Response Team, is working with Caritas International, government authorities and other partners to assess needs and design appropriate responses.
“This drought comes as prices for staple foods are increasing, in some cases more than doubling in the past year,” Gleeson says. “Those price increases put further strain on the people of this region.”
Many already spend a huge percentage of their income on food. A rise in prices pushes them over the edge.
“These price increases strike particularly hard in urban areas where people must purchase all their food,” Gleeson says. “In non-drought conditions, rural farmers often benefit from rising food prices because they can sell their crops for higher prices. But right now, they have no crops to sell due to the drought. So they and their families are also hurting.”
Gleeson says that the crisis will likely worsen before it eases with the October harvest.
“Many areas had very poor spring rains, so the harvest will not be enough,” he says. “And if the fall rains are not strong—–or fail again–—then this crisis is going to get much, much worse.”
Michael Hill is CRS’ senior communications manager. He is based in Baltimore, Maryland
Tags: Africa, Emergency Response
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July 13th, 2011 at 5:20 pm
Dear CRS.
The United Nations recently called the situation of drought, hunger and starvation in the Horn of Africa the worst humanitarian crisis in the world today.
Please respond with more publicity, more prominently placed, on your website, emails and letters to your recipients, a greater overall effort to generate more donations. Why not through the churches?
Thank you for increasing your efforts.
Peace,
Patricia H. Miller