Drought and food shortage across east Africa

After two failed rains, drought is hitting hard across East Africa. In countries such as Kenya, Ethiopia and Uganda people are already suffering due to lack of food and water. There are reports of cattle being grazed on city grass verges due to lack of suitable pasture, and scenes of children collecting water from isolated muddy pools.

It’s hard to exaggerate the scale of the disaster. In the hardest hit areas, years without rain have left a scorched landscape scattered with the carcasses of dead animals. Pastoralist communities who depend on cattle for their whole livelihood face hunger and destitution.

“In some parts of Kenya, children under six have never seen rain fall,” says John Morris, Plan’s Country Director there. It’s the same story in Ethiopia, where crops have failed and thousands of children desperately need emergency food supplies. And in Uganda, crop failures have been compounded by extensive flooding, leaving children in equal need of food and fresh water.

Mwelu, 11, from Kenya describes the affect the situation has had "Hunger makes you feel unwell. You go numb. You lose the ability to do anything. It feels like you are sick."

"Sometimes I think it is like the feeling of dying." adds Mumo, 13.

Political circumstance and human mistakes are further hampering efforts to avert crisis in some areas. The Guardian reported a “botched operation” by the Kenyan government, who attempted to buy weakened cows from farmers at a discounted rate to be fed up and slaughtered elsewhere. Unfortunately most of the cows died on route as they were not provided with sufficient food and water – and they were unable to be used for food.

Occurring 25 years after the Ethiopian famine of 1984, many are citing climate change as a key cause of the drought.

Plan aims to offer immediate assistance with food and clean water as the situation progresses, and also to find longer term solutions suitable to local communities, such as education and building up resilience. We need funding to carry out this work.

How you can help

• £30 from you could pay for emergency food and drinking water supplies for children in schools in Kenya and Uganda.
• £60 could make a real impact in Ethiopia, paying for food and training health workers there to deal with deadly diseases like diarrhoea and cholera.
• £120 could pay for children's health and nutritional status to be monitored, so they get the long term healthcare and support they need.

Donate to the East African Drought Appeal now.