Africa Drought Updates

November 7, 2011

The United Church continues to monitor the drought, hunger, and in some cases famine situations in the Horn of Africa, and it is clear that our appeals for donations continue to be urgent.

The 2010–2011 drought is the worst to hit many parts of the Horn since 1950, and has created enormous challenges. Food prices have skyrocketed. Those who cannot afford food suffer the effects of malnutrition, whether they live in urban slums or remote, rural districts.

Your ongoing support of this life-saving work is still urgently needed. Working in partnership with Canadian Foodgrains Bank, the ACT Alliance, and Canadian Churches in Action, together we can bring desperately needed assistance to those most in need.

Please make a gift online now or through your church or mail a cheque directly to the office.

To donate by cheque, please mail your gift, payable to The United Church of Canada, to:

• The United Church of Canada
  Philanthropy Unit—Emergency Response
  3250 Bloor Street West, Suite 300
  Toronto, ON  M8X 2Y4

Please be sure to note "Emergency Response—Horn of Africa" on the face of your cheque. If you would like additional information, please call 1-800-268-3781

Thank you for your generosity and compassion!

Water Supplies Dangerously Low

ACT Alliance members are providing emergency aid in Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya as food shortages continue. ACT member Church World Service is providing food to several thousand people in the Mwingi and Kibwezi districts of Kenya's Eastern province. CWS helped build concrete tanks and dams to store rainwater in both places. While rain has started filling these structures in Mwingi, they are still empty in Kibwezi.

Similarly, farmers in Mwingi have planted seeds provided by CWS, but in Kibwezi it is too dry to plant. Local food and water supplies are dangerously low.

"Communities are still walking long distances under scorching sun in search of water for domestic use," CWS emergency coordinator Sam Mutua says. "Even if the rains come now, the communities will still require food support until the harvest comes."

Pastures Turn to Desert

According to ACT, in northwestern Kenya the drought has extended a series of dry years that may be a sign of climate change. The Turkana people of this region historically graze cattle and other livestock, but many of their once-fertile pastures have turned into deserts. Some Turkana now raise crops where water is available, but the drought sharply decreased the harvest this year.

ACT’s National Council of Churches of Kenya, a United Church partner, is delivering emergency food aid to 240 households in the Nakaalei area of Turkana. Rains have returned to some areas of Turkana, but Nakaalei remains very dry, says NCCK coordinator for the North Rift Valley, Raphael Lokol. "Most trees are leafless, and livestock have nothing to feed on," Lokol says.

NCCK delivered food to Napitau's community in October. However, perennial challenges remain in a community severely affected by water scarcity. "Every year, there is no rain," Napitau said.

Modest Rains Supply Some Relief

As an estimated 13 million people continue suffering the effects of the drought, recent rains have given hope to some farmers, ACT Alliance reports. In parts of Kenya, October rains have allowed farming communities to plant fields in anticipation of a harvest in January or February. Other areas are still dry—and the next two weeks may determine whether they will see any rain at all this year.

According to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation and the Famine Early Warning Network (FEWS NET), the food security outlook for the coming months depends largely on the extent of rains between now and December. Rainfall is expected to be normal to above-normal but will lessen towards the end of the season in south Somalia, south and southeast Ethiopia, and northeast Kenya.