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Added on the 14/04/2022 11:41:09 - Copyright : France 24 EN
Swathes of land across the Horn of Africa are being ravaged by a drought that has put 20 million people at risk of starvation. A donor conference in April raised almost $1.4 billion for the region, which the UN says is facing its worst drought in 40 years. In the afflicted areas, people eke out a living mainly from herding and subsistence farming. They are experiencing their fourth consecutive poor rainy season since the end of 2020 -- a situation exacerbated by a locust invasion that wiped out crops between 2019 and 2021.
Twenty million people are at risk of starvation this year as delayed rains worsen an already brutal drought in Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia, the UN warns. A months-long drought has left the Horn of Africa on the verge of a humanitarian catastrophe, destroying crops and livestock and forcing huge numbers of people to leave their homes in search of food and water.
From southern Ethiopia to northern Kenya and Somalia, swathes of land across the Horn of Africa are being ravaged by a drought that has put 20 million people at risk of starvation.
Millions of people face severe hunger in the Horn of Africa as the worst drought in more than 40 years could extend to a fifth consecutive failed rainy season, the United Nations and humanitarian agencies warned on Tuesday.
The driest conditions in decades have left an estimated 13 million people across Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia facing severe hunger. Experts warn of a below-average rainfall forecast that threatens to worsen and aggravate dire conditions in the coming month.
William Ruto, Kenya's new president, granted an interview to FRANCE 24's Marc Perelman on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York. Ruto warned that the worst drought in 40 years risks causing starvation in the Horn of Africa, adding that "3.1 million people are facing severe drought" in Kenya alone. "This is no longer a country-by-country challenge. This is becoming a multilateral challenge," he insisted, calling on multilateral institutions and lenders for support. Ruto blamed climate change for the drought but stressed that the situation had been exacerbated by the war in Ukraine and the resulting fall in grain exports to Africa.
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