East Africa Crisis - one year on: your questions answered
What has happened?
In the second half of 2011, 13.3 million people across the Horn and East Africa region were affected by a devastating drought. The United Nations described the situation in parts of the region as the worst drought conditions in the last 60 years. Our Church partners in the north of Kenya told us that it was the worst drought in living memory. A famine was officially declared in six regions of Somalia.
The “short rains” in October and November 2011 were mostly normal or above normal, which helped to improve water supplies and pasture for livestock, and which led to a good harvest in early 2012 in areas dependent on those rains. However, the “long rains” from March to May 2012 have been poor in some areas, which could slow down the recovery. Conflict and displacement also continue to cause severe food shortages in parts of Somalia and South Sudan.
What are the humanitarian needs?
Food security: Substantial humanitarian intervention and a good harvest in early 2012 has led to improved food security across the region, but millions of people continue to require food aid.
Pastoralists: Pastoralist communities, which rely on livestock for a living, lost hundreds of thousands of animals across the region because of water and pasture shortages. For pastoralists, livestock are like a living bank: they are the main assets that people own. It will take years for many pastoralists to rebuild their herds.
Farmers: The failure of two consecutive rainy seasons meant that, in many areas, the harvest due in July and August 2011 failed to materialise. In places where the 2012 long rains have been poor, crops are likely to fail once again.
Displacement: Millions of people have been displaced by the drought and by conflict in Somalia, South Sudan and elsewhere in the region.
Food prices: At the height of the crisis, food prices were exceptionally high. They remain so in some areas. In Tanzania, a 100kg bag of rice, which would normally cost 80,000 shillings (£33), now costs 250,000 shillings (£101).
Who are our partners?
We are working with a wide range of local Catholic and other partners in the worst-affected areas of Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia and South Sudan.
What are our partners doing?
Our partners have been:
- providing emergency food aid (through food distribution, food-for-work, cash-for-work and direct cash transfers) to the most vulnerable, including young children, pregnant women, mothers with infants, elderly people and people living in isolated communities.
- rehabilitating existing water-sources and digging new wells and boreholes.
- helping pastoralists keep their prime breeding livestock alive so that herds can be built up when conditions improve. This is achieved by providing animal feed and veterinary support; buying the weakest animals from pastoralists so that they are still able to make some money from selling their cattle; removing the carcasses of dead animals in order to prevent the spread of disease.
- running health and nutrition services to support malnourished children and mothers.
- improving water and sanitation in refugee camps.
-helping communities to rebuild their lives and become more resilient to future disasters. For example: building earth dams (artificial reservoirs) that hold water for longer; launching soil conservation projects; distributing livestock and drought-tolerant seeds; enabling people to find new ways of making a living; running microfinance projects that enable communities to save money for emergencies.
What work is CAFOD doing in Somalia?
We have been working through local partners in South Central Somalia to provide food and help people earn a living. We have provided families with monthly food vouchers so that they can purchase their own food (including maize, beans and sugar) from local traders. As well as providing families with urgent food assistance this project is also contributing to strengthening the local markets.
Somalia: millions still face food shortages>>
How much money has CAFOD pledged on relief programmes and where?
Our supporters have donated more than £4.9 million, which we are spending in the affected areas. We have also received more than £2 million through the DEC appeal. We have received funding from other partners of about £3 million.
How long have we been working in East Africa and what have we been doing?
We have been working in East Africa since our foundation in 1962, providing emergency relief and long-term development projects to some of the poorest people in the world.
Why are there droughts in East Africa so often?
The 2011 drought was a result of what’s known as the La Nina phenomenon: lower than normal temperatures in the Pacific Ocean had serious effects on weather conditions around the world. In many areas of East Africa, the rains that usually fall from March to June were far less heavy than usual.
In general, droughts are occurring in East Africa increasingly often. The region is still recovering from a major drought in 2009. Because droughts are happening with such frequency, people have very little time to rebuild their lives and livelihoods between each event. When there are rains, they are less predictable than in the past, making it harder for farmers to plan ahead.
Can CAFOD’s projects really make a difference?
Our projects are saving lives and reducing suffering: we have, for example, funded nutrition clinics to treat severely malnourished children who would otherwise die, and made sure that food is available in remote villages that other agencies couldn’t reach.
In the longer term, our projects are helping people rebuild their assets and become more resilient when hit by natural disasters. For example, in Kargi in Marsabit in northern Kenya, we helped build earth dams that mean water is captured and stored. This means that people are able to access water for several months longer than they would have done in the past. In Maralal in Kenya, we have built artificial reservoirs and greenhouses, which mean that villagers can earn extra money from growing vegetables even in times of drought. In Borana, Ethopia, our range-land management projects will ensure that pasture is available for animals for longer – which will make a huge difference to pastoralists, who rely on their animals as the main assets they own.
How can you donate to CAFOD’s work in East Africa?
Phone: 0500 85 88 85
Post:CAFOD, 55 Westminster Bridge Road, London, SE1 7JB
