Late rains add to drought misery in Horn of Africa

The number of people facing hunger in the Horn of Africa may rise from the current 14 million to 20 million by the end of the year, with rains likely to fail for the fourth consecutive season in the region, warned the World Food Programme.

The United Nations agency said on Tuesday that 6 million people are already facing acute food insecurity in Somalia due to lingering drought, while 500,000 Kenyans are one step away from catastrophic levels of hunger.

In southern and southeastern Ethiopia, over 1 million livestock have died and an estimated 7.2 million people wake up hungry every day, and malnutrition levels are above emergency thresholds.

The Horn of Africa is already reeling from food and fuel prices rising to unprecedented levels because of the Ukraine crisis.

The WFP said the cost of a food basket has increased by 66 percent in Ethiopia and 36 percent in Somalia－both depend heavily on wheat from Black Sea basin countries. The UN agency is urgently appealing for $437 million to save lives in the region over the next six months.

"We know from past experience that acting early to avert a humanitarian catastrophe is vital. Yet, our ability to launch the response has been limited due to a lack of funding to date," said Michael Dunford, the WFP's regional director for eastern Africa.

Rhoda Munee, a small-scale farmer in Mwatungo village in Kenya's semiarid eastern Machakos county, said the severe drought has put many people in the village under pressure.

Lack of healthcare

"Many people here depend on rain-fed agriculture both for consumption and income so when the rains fail, people not only struggle to put food on the table but they are also unable to pay school fees for their children as well as afford healthcare services," she said.

Though rain started to fall on Tuesday night, Munee doubts it will last to ease the drought.

"It has been a long wait because rains are late by a month. I am not sure whether the rains will be successful or they will disappear after a few days. However, I will just plant and hope for the best," she said.

While several parts of Kenya have received some rain in the regions hard hit by drought, drought continues to bite, raising fears of another failed rain season.

Notably, clashes over grazing fields due to drought are still ongoing with the latest one leaving five people dead on Monday night on the border of Isiolo and Meru counties. Pastoralists also continue to witness the deaths of their livestock due to lack of water and pasture. The situation is similar in neighboring Ethiopia and Somalia.