East Africa Emergency

Somalia

Impact of the drought: Somalia is amongst the hardest hit by the drought in East Africa. Currently, almost 90 per cent of the country’s districts (66 out of 74) have been struck and approximately 4.3 million people are in desperate need of immediate aid.

According to the UN, 271,000 people in Somalia have been forced to abandon their homes in a desperate attempt to reach food, water, and pasture – exposing them to many more terrifying dangers.

Gender-based violence, disease outbreaks due to a lack of access to sanitation and hygiene facilities, a lack of adequate shelter and more, face the hundreds of thousands as they leave home in search of food and water.

Impact of the floods: 1.24 million people have been affected by the floods in Somalia, and 32 people have lost their lives. 

457,000 people have been displaced from their homes.

There are fears of the situation deteriorating, as extreme heavy rainfall has been predicted in Southern Somalia, as well as parts of Somaliland and Galmudug State. 

The humanitarian situation in Somalia is dire, and families are in urgent need of aid. The floods have caused road blockages, making it difficult for aid to be delivered.

Islamic Relief is on the ground

Islamic Relief Somalia teams are supporting nearly 5,000 people affected by the floods with cash grants which will cover their needs for three months.

With your support, we will also be providing affected families with hygiene kits and other essential items, as well as cash support to additional families in several regions such as Badhere and Baladweyne. 

We are also planning to distribute food packs to 100 families, and to construct emergency toilets for displaced families. 

Islamic Relief has worked in Somalia for 15 years and are now working tirelessly to respond to the current crisis unfolding.

Ethiopia

Today, one of the world’s most extreme hunger crises is facing the people of Ethiopia, in East Africa. The UN estimates there are now 13.6 million people in dire need of food aid.

Impact of the drought: One of the worst areas to be hit by the growing drought crisis is Borena, in the Oromia region, which shares a southern border with Kenya. There, 69,000 livestock have died due to the effects of a drought, cutting off livelihoods and provisions for thousands of people who have nowhere else to turn for food and income.

To add further to the terrifying circumstances unfolding in Ethiopia, the northern region continues to be one of the most dangerous places to deliver aid.

Conflict in the northern region of Tigray in late 2020 has sprung into action blockades that prevent essential food and medicine from reaching people in need. As a result, many hundreds of thousands of people are starving to death.

Impact of the floods: Over 760,000 people in Ethiopia have been affected by heavy rains, floods, and landslides and 43 people have lost their lives. 

Families have also been displaced as a result of the flooding, and are in urgent need of aid. In the Afar region alone, over 2, 200 families have been forced to flee their homes. 

Many flooded areas remain inaccessible and hard-to-reach as multiple routes and bridges have been  damaged. 

Islamic Relief is on the ground

Islamic Relief teams in Ethiopia are providing vulnerable families with cash grants, as well as hygiene kits in the worst-affected areas of Afder and Borana.

We are one of the few international organisations providing foodstuffs such as oil, pulses, rice, sugar and salt on the ground. We also run eight mobile health units which are a crucial source of wellbeing for displaced people in the conflict-affected region of Afar in the north, with plans to extend our reach to those in the south.

Kenya

Impact of the drought: The growing drought crisis in Kenya has been a devastating blow for the many vulnerable people living in the northern, north-eastern, and coastal areas of the country. They are now experiencing one of their worst rainfalls in decades.

For the millions of people who depend largely on agriculture for income, the drought has ripped them of their livelihoods and plunged them into dire circumstances. More than 1.4 million cows, sheep, goats, and camels have already died, causing milk production to drop to less than half of normal levels. Food insecurity across the country poses the biggest threat to the survival of children, the elderly, women and men.

With livestock rapidly declining, many have been forced to walk to source pasture, food and water supplies. Currently, 2.9 million people are in need of urgent food aid and humanitarian assistance.

Impact of the floods: 19 of the country’s 47 counties have now been affected by flooding which began in late October 2023. 46 people have now lost their lives, and 58,000 people have been displaced from their homes across the country.

Many communities have also been left isolated as flooding has damaged or destroyed roads and bridges.

Homes, schools, hospitals, and public buildings have been destroyed.

Crops and large numbers of livestock have been lost, making the food crisis in the country even worse.

Islamic Relief is on the ground

Islamic Relief Kenya team are providing affected families with cash grants, as well as seeds and animal vaccinations to help rebuild livelihoods.

We have also been providing thousands of drought-affected families with cash transfers to help people in remote areas.