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UN warns of hunger season in Horn of Africa

Xinhua, December 20, 2016 Adjust font size:

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on Tuesday warned of rise in hunger and further decline of local livelihoods in 2017 due to severe drought in the Horn of Africa region.

FAO said growing numbers of refugees in East Africa are also expected to place even more burden on already strained food and nutrition security as farming communities struggle with knock-on effects of multiple droughts that hit the region this year.

"We are dealing with a cyclical phenomenon in the Horn of Africa," Dominique Burgeon, Director of FAO's Emergency and Rehabilitation Division said in a statement.

"But we also know from experience that timely support to farming families can significantly boost their ability to withstand the impacts of these droughts and soften the blow to their livelihoods," said Burgeon.

According to FAO, about 12 million people across Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia are currently in need of food assistance, as families in the region face limited access to food and income, together with rising debt, low cereal and seed stocks, and low milk and meat production.

The UN agency said Kenya is highly likely to see another drought in early 2017 and with it a rise in food insecurity. Current estimates show some 1.3 million people are food insecure.

FAO said after two poor rainy seasons this year, Somalia is in a countrywide state of drought emergency, ranging from moderate to extreme.

Some five million Somalis are food insecure through December including 1.1 million people in crisis and emergency conditions of food insecurity.

The latest analysis forecasts that the number of people in crisis and emergency conditions of food insecurity may further rise by more than a quarter of a million people between February and May 2017.

FAO also said some 5.6 million people in Ethiopia remain food insecure, while millions more depend on livestock herds that need to be protected and treated to improve milk and meat production.

The crop situation is relatively stable after the country completed the most widespread emergency seed distribution in Ethiopia's history as more than 25 NGOs and agencies reached 1.5 million households with drought-resistant seeds.

FAO said it has already begun disbursing emergency funds for rapid interventions in Kenya and Somalia.

The funds will support emergency feed and vaccinations for breeding and weak animals, repairs of water points, and seeds and tools to plant in the spring season. Endit