East Africa Food Crisis
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East Africa Food Crisis

Woman stands in open space with wilted trees and carcasses around her.

Photo: Khadija Farah/Oxfam
Mareya Ibrahim, stands among the carcasses of her livestock. Of the 50 animals she owned, she now has seven remaining.


Last updated 20 March 2023

 

'Our donkeys have perished and the ones remaining are too weak to pull cart.'

Ahmed Mohamud Omar, 70, pastoralist

 

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Situation

Close to 30 million people across East Africa are living in crisis levels of hunger (IPC 3) or worse which requires urgent action. This is a 13 per cent increase between April and December 2022. And levels of malnutrition are soaring among children, with 1.9 million children in drought-affected areas projected to experience wasting from severe acute malnutrition in 2023.

The Crisis in Numbers

 

Oxfam’s response

In Ethiopia, we:

  • have reached close to 60,000 people with clean water, food and cash assistance.
  • have continued to rehabilitate boreholes, and are expanding them so more people have access to clean water.
  • worked with the livestock development bureau to vaccinate over 146,000 sheep, goats, cattle and camels to further protect pastoralists’ livelihoods.

 

In Kenya, we:

  • have, together with our partner organisations, reached close to 205,000 people with humanitarian assistance.
  • have been distributing water treatment kits and promoting personal and environmental hygiene.
  • offered cash assistance to drought affected households.


In Somalia, we:

  • reached over 184,000 people together with local organisations.
  • are providing lifesaving water, sanitation, and health support.
  • are drilling wells and distributing hygiene kits to prevent waterborne diseases.

     

In South Sudan, we:

  • have reached close to 274,000 people.
  • constructed latrines that serve over 25,000 people.
  • are promoting hygiene and sanitation to protect communities from disease.

 

Oxfam Hong Kong has responded to previous food crises in the region, and is responding to people's needs in East Africa. But we need your help to do more.

 


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