Over 12.5 million people facing severe starvation in Horn of Africa region

Rome – Insufficient rain for three successive years has created a dangerous famine situation in the countries in the Horn of Africa. The World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that more than 12.5 million people have faced the food shortage and starvation crisis given the famine. Michael Dunford, a senior official at the WFP, pointed to the heart-rending situation saying, ‘The entire farming seasons have been wasted countries in the horn of Africa region and a huge number of domestic animals have been the victims of the famine. Millions of families are facing dangerous consequences of this.’

The WFP published a report regarding the situation in Africa on Tuesday. This report informs about the humanitarian crisis faced by Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia in the region known as the Horn of Africa. The rain has been insufficient in these three countries for the last three years. These countries are faced with the worst famine since 1980. The known sources of water have dried up and the land is parched. The WFP report says that families dependent on farming and animal herding are the worst hit by the famine.

The group affiliated with the United Nations Organisation warned that there is a severe shortage of food grain as the farming seasons have failed and millions of families are facing starvation and malnutrition. As per the information of the WFP, over 13 million people from Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia have faced starvation. The report also points out that millions of people were forced to migrate given the famine and food shortage.

If the situation is to be brought under control, more than 20 million people from these three countries, alongside Eritrea, will have to be supplied with food and water for the next six months. The report expresses fear that nearly 1.4 million children will die of malnutrition if the project fails. If appropriate aid is not provided, the region will face huge loss of life like the famine in Somalia in 2011. More than 250,000 people had died of starvation in the famine in Somalia in 2011.

Last year, the voluntary organisation Oxfam International had presented a comprehensive report on famine and food shortage, referring to it as Hunger Pandemic. The report warned that 11 people were starving to death in the world given the Coronavirus pandemic, increasing conflicts and the problems of climate change. The report pointed to the crisis in Ethiopia and DR Congo from the African continent. Ethiopia is ravaged by a conflict between the government Tigre rebels. The United Nations has warned that more than 2 million people will face a severe starvation crisis.