UN says 13 million face hunger as Horn of Africa drought worsens

People in Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia are facing the worst of the drought, which is leading to wide-spread food shortages. (AFP: Hans Lucas)

NAIROBI, Kenya - An estimated 13 million people in Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia are facing severe hunger as the Horn of Africa experiences its worst drought in decades, according to the World Food Programme (WFP).

Three consecutive rainy seasons have failed and the region has recorded its driest conditions since 1981, the United Nations agency said.

The drought has destroyed crops and inflicted "abnormally" high livestock deaths, forcing rural families — who rely on herding and farming — to abandon their homes.

Water and grazing land are in short supply and forecasts of below-average rainfall in coming months only threaten more misery, according to WFP's regional director in East Africa, Michael Dunford.

"Harvests are ruined, livestock are dying, and hunger is growing as recurrent droughts affect the Horn of Africa," Mr. Dunford said in a statement released on Tuesday.

He said the situation required "immediate humanitarian action" to avoid a repeat of a crisis such as that experienced in Somalia in 2011 when 250,000 people died of hunger during a prolonged drought.

Food aid is being distributed across an arid swath of Kenya, Ethiopia, and Somalia, where malnutrition rates are high and some 13 million people are at risk of severe hunger in the first quarter of this year.

Some 5.7 million people needed food assistance in southern and south-eastern Ethiopia, including 500,000 malnourished children and mothers.

In Somalia, the number of people classified as seriously hungry is expected to rise from 3.5 million to 4.6 million by May without urgent intervention.

Another 2.8 million people need assistance in south-eastern and northern Kenya, where a drought emergency was declared in September.

WFP said $US327 million ($459 million) was required to respond to immediate needs over the next six months and to support pastoral communities to become more resilient against recurring climate shocks.

In 2011, failed rains led to the driest year since 1951 in arid regions of Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Uganda.

Experts have said extreme weather events were happening with increased frequency and intensity due to climate change, with Africa — which contributes the least to global warming — bearing the brunt of their impact.

AFP