Rain failure likely to continue

Donor response has been good to the Horn of Africa drought appeal in Ethiopia, although the number of beneficiaries is expected to increase from 7.7 million to about 10.3 million. But in Kenya, currently facing one of its most serious droughts, donors have been slow to respond. A “substantial quantity” of food aid will have to be borrowed from the Great Lakes Region to meet distribution targets in Kenya, said the first regional situation report by the Addis Ababa-based UN Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Drought in the Horn of Africa. Ethiopia: In an overview of drought-affected regions, the report said the onset of the main ‘kiremt’ rains in most western, central and northern cropping area in Ethiopia had generally had “a favourable impact” for farmers, but rains had failed in eastern areas, causing unusual movement of livestock. The report described “a particularly bleak outlook in agro-pastoral areas”, because of the “near failure” of harvest for the majority of farmers dependant on ‘belg’ crops in northern areas. Despite promising predictions by the Ethiopian national Meteorological Services Agencies (NMSA), the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warned against continuing rainfall deficits in the whole Horn of Africa region June to September, said the report. Kenya: Crucial rains were forecast to fail in Kenya, between October to December, increasing the “peak stress period” of the drought from July to March 2001. Market surveys in Kenya indicated food prices continuing to rise, the report said. Health experts feared the poor and declining nutritional status of children would make them vulnerable to common diseases. An outbreak of Kala Azar, an immune-suppressant disease spread by sand flies, has caused 11 deaths in Wajir, Mandera and Garissa, Kenyas northeastern districts. The report warned that Kala Azar was endemic in East Africa and the Horn in “the most virulent and hard-to-treat strain”. Outbreaks have a direct correlation with the level of rainfall. Security was also poor in some of the drought-affected areas in Kenya, it said. Clashes on 10 July in Mandera district, northern Kenya, caused two deaths; fighting in Marsabit district close to the Ethiopian border reportedly claimed 15 lives. Somalia: Rainfall in Somalia has been “light and patchy” resulting in improved crop growth and pasture availability in most parts of the country, but “pockets of vulnerability remain”. Rains have failed in parts of Gedo and the west bank of Lower Juba. The report said security concerns remained a high priority, especially in the south, and in pockets in the central and northern parts of the country, making humanitarian work “very difficult”. Improved health services, increased awareness of Somalia’s situation, and continued relief food distribution were recommended to most southern regions. The current Kal Azar epidemic could have already spread to southwestern regions of Somalia, facilitated by cross border population movements in search of water, the the report said.