22-008-SP Alert Note Drought in The Horn of Africa (Activated)

The drought situation continues to worsen in the Horn of Africa, leaving large swathes of arid and semi-arid areas (ASALs) of Somalia, southern and south-eastern Ethiopia, and northern and eastern Kenya facing exceptional drought. At the moment the Horn of Africa is experiencing one of its most severe droughts, and acute food and water insecurity is affecting at least 15 million people across the region following three back-to-back poor rainy seasons and a fourth under-performing rain season. Nearly 6 million in Somalia, 5.5-6.5 in Ethiopia and 3.5 million people in Kenya are severely food insecure. The water insecurity levels for households and livelihoods are alarming. Field assessments show that many of the most reliable surface water points during a “normal drought” are dry. Even the best locally built rainwater harvesting and storage systems (hafirs, berkads) that provide water during the dry season, are dry. Over three million animals have died in the region severely effecting livelihoods and sustenance among pastoralist communities, whose nutrition relies heavily on milk, meat and blood.