Over 43 million people in need of humanitarian assistance in the Horn of Africa – UNFPA

GOOBJOOG NEWS | ADDIS ABABA:  Over 43 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance across drought-affected Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia in 2023, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) says.

The humanitarian organisation in a statement said that out of the more than 43 million people who are in need of humanitarian assistance across the three Horn of Africa countries, some 32 million are acutely food insecure.

“The devastation brought by the 2020-2023 drought will be felt for years. More than 2.7 million people have been displaced across the three countries, and more than 13 million livestock have died — destroying not only livelihoods but an entire way of life,” the UNFPA said.

It said recent rains have brought some relief to many areas, but they also bring new threats, including fresh displacement and increased risks of disease, livestock loss, and crop damage. It warned that further floods are expected later this year.

The UNFPA stressed that women and girls face a triple burden of finding ways to survive, care for their families, and protect themselves from sexual violence. They are forced to shoulder the burden of extreme weather events driven by a climate crisis that is not of their making.

In 2023, an estimated 839,530 pregnant women across drought-affected areas of the Horn of Africa will struggle to access maternal health services, including antenatal, delivery, postnatal, and emergency and obstetric newborn care, according to data from the UNFPA.

It said malnutrition among pregnant and breastfeeding women is high, increasing their risk of severe, if not fatal, pregnancy complications.

The UNFPA warned that its Response Plan for the Horn of Africa Drought Crisis remains severely underfunded. It added that additional resources are urgently required to reach all women and girls with the health and protection support they need.