Drought in the Horn of Africa had left about 11.7 million people severely food insecure by June 2019, and more than 785,000 children severely malnourished. The count covered Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, and Uganda, and it used Phase 3 and above on the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification scale. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said the number was expected to rise in the months ahead. Several poor seasons had destroyed livelihoods and worn down the ways communities usually cope.
Rain from March to mid-May 2019 was less than half the annual average across the region. Rain later in the Gu and long-rains season improved in some places, but it was not expected to make up the early shortfall. This was the second poor rainy season in a row, after below-average Deyr and short rains from October to December 2018. Families who had already sold animals or skipped meals were heading into another lean stretch with less to fall back on.
Many of the same districts were also dealing with violence and conflict. Rising hunger was likely to add to protection risks, especially for women and girls who would walk farther for clean water and food. Drought also raised the risk of cholera, typhoid, diarrhoea, acute respiratory infections, and measles. The June snapshot was an early warning as much as a tally. Aid agencies were looking at a wider crisis through the second half of the year, in four countries at once, before the next rains could repair pastures and wells.
Sources: United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs