Oxfam Dangerous Delays: East Africa Acute Hunger

More than 22 million people are affected by the drought East Africa, and at least 13 million are experiencing severe food insecurity. The drought has caused crops to fail and cattle to die while the lack of clean water increases the threat of cholera and other diseases. Brutal war in South Sudan has driven more than three million people from their homes and left millions more in need of emergency food.

For the first time since 2011, famine has been declared in the worst affected areas. 

In Ethiopia this year, an estimated 300,000 children will become severely acutely malnourished at least nine million people are expected not have a regular supply of safe drinking water. Over 7 million people are severely food insecure in the country.

In Kenya, over two million people are considered severely at risk. There have been some rains but the food security situation remains unchanged in the short-term.

In Somalia, more than six million people are in need of humanitarian assistance and parts of the country are on the brink of famine. Many people are relying on limited water sources which are unprotected and unsafe, exposing them to disease. The water shortage has led to reported increases in acute watery diarrhoea (AWD) and cholera.

In South Sudan, almost five million people are facing extreme hunger, and over 60% of the population is in need of humanitarian assistance; a humanitarian crisis driven by three years of a brutal civil war. 

With the support of your donations we were able to continue working to save lives in this worsening humanitarian crises.

Programme activities

In Ethiopia, Oxfam’s has reached 753,560 people with lifesaving support. The main activities that have been carried out since 2016 are:

Water:

• Water has been trucked to more than 100 distribution sites, including to Internally Displaced Person camps and institutions in 21 districts of six zones in Somali region
• 9 water storage tanks have been rehabilitated or installed in key locations
• Over 255,000 litres of water have been supplied to nearly 500,000 people
• 33 borehole rehabilitations are currently ongoing as well as the drilling of 5 new boreholes, drilling of 4 shallow wells and the rehabilitation of a dam

Hygiene and Sanitation:

• Over 60,000 people have been reached through hygiene promotion and community mobilisation
• Distribution of hygiene kits and Acute Watery Diarrhoea kits have been carried out
• Construction of 764 latrines have been completed

Food Security:

• 33,821 households have been supported through cash transfers
• Over 440,000 animals have been vaccinated against drought related disease

In Kenya over 280,000 people have been reached, activities that have been carried out to offer support include:

Water:

• 231,413 people have been reached in Turkana and Wajir counties through emergency water provision
• Oxfam have repaired and carried out maintenance on 65 water sources and boreholes
• Boreholes have been upgraded with the installation of solar panels
• Cash transfers have been carried out in Wajir for individuals to purchase water

Hygiene and Sanitation:

• Education of 48,570 people on improved hygiene and sanitation
• Distribution of hygiene kits to 46,289 people

Food Security:

• 36,006 individuals received unconditional cash transfers for purchasing food and other essential items

In Somalia nearly 80,000 people have been supported since 2016 activities have included:

Water:

• Clean water was trucked to over 21,000 people
• 2,000 people have increased access to water through the rehabilitation of water infrastructure
• Over 8,000 people were provided access to latrines and handwashing stations

Hygiene and Sanitation:

• Hygiene kits have been distributed to 10,856 households
• 12,778 households have been reached with hygiene promotion
• Cleaning tools and kits have been distributed for cleaning of sanitation facilities, reaching a total of 35,240 people

Food security:

• 2,968 households have received support through Unconditional Cash Transfers
• Around 390,000 livestock have been vaccinated and treated
• Agricultural tools and seeds have been provided to 328 households

Oxfam has seven humanitarian bases across South Sudan and teams are running life-saving activities in other locations where the need is greatest. We are:

• Providing regular emergency food distributions to over 415,000 people. 
• Providing clean water, safe sanitation facilities, essential hygiene items and promoting good hygiene practices to help keep diseases like cholera at bay.
• Providing vouchers for canoes so that people sheltering from the conflict on islands in the swamps can get to the help they need
• Supporting the most vulnerable people to produce food for themselves and develop ways to make a living, for example by providing livestock or training, tools and seeds .

Thank you for your support of Oxfam's response to the East Africa Food Crisis. Your support has enabled us to save lives and give hope to those affected in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia and South Sudan.

 Photo Credits: Lauren Hartnett/Oxfam