This is the latest report
on the relentless drought in the Horn of Africa, more specifically in Ethiopia,
Kenya and Somalia. The study published on 15 July 2023 by the United Nations
Population Fund (UNFPA) reveals that more than 2.7 million people have been
displaced in the three countries and more than 13 million head of livestock
have died, destroying not only livelihoods but an entire way of life.
The UNFPA adds that of the
"43 million people in need of humanitarian assistance in these three
countries of the Horn of Africa, 32 million are acutely food insecure". The
same source also points out that recent rains in other parts of the Horn of
Africa have led to "further population displacement and increased risks
of disease, livestock losses and crop damage".
A phenomenon caused by
climate change
In another study published
on 27 April 2023, scientists described the historic drought affecting the
Greater Horn of Africa (Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Djibouti, Kenya and Sudan)
as the unprecedented combination of a lack of rain and high temperatures. These
climatic upsets could not have occurred without the consequences of human
emissions of greenhouse gases.
"Climate change
caused by human activities has made agricultural drought in the Horn of Africa
around 100 times more likely than in the past", states a report by the
World Weather Attribution (WWA), a global network of scientists that assesses
the link between extreme weather events and climate disruption without delay.
According to the nineteen
scientists who contributed to the report, climate change has had "little
effect on recent annual rainfall" in the region. But it has had a strong
influence on the rise in temperatures, responsible for a sharp increase in
evapotranspiration, which has led to record drying of soils and plants. For
these scientists, this is the worst drought to hit the region for forty years.
Fanta Mabo
