19th July, 2011
The alarming crisis that is unfolding in the Horn of Africa as a result of one of the worst famines the region has experienced in recent times is a matter of great concern for all those working in the humanitarian sector, at global and at local levels. Humanitarian organisations have begun to mobilise emergency food supplies to alleviate the suffering of the huge population affected by the catastrophe, estimated by the UN to be 11 million people.
Working with the poorest and most vulnerable people on the continent, AMREF is all too aware of the impact of the drought and famine on the communities with which we work in the affected countries. AMREF is currently seeing increased malnutrition among women and children, more diarrhoeal diseases and measles due mainly to the ongoing food shortages in these communities.
In Kenya, the situation in the arid north and eastern regions has reached emergency crisis level, while marginal parts of the south-eastern and coastal regions are faced with severe food shortages, affecting close to 3.5 million people. Soaring inflation has also left large numbers of people in Kenya’s informal urban settlements unable to buy food. In Ethiopia, 4 million people in the country are in need of food relief, mostly in the Somali, Tigray, Oromia and Amhara regions. Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps in northern Kenya are housing close to 500,000 Somalis, and the numbers keep swelling as 1,500 refugees (according to Government estimates) cross the border daily to escape the famine and insecurity in their country.
The greatest effects of the famine on these populations include malnutrition, impoverishment and loss of life. AMREF is also concerned about the effects of the famine on already vulnerable populations. Children and pregnant women are highly susceptible to malnutrition and diarrhoea, for which medical care is critical. People living with HIV and TB need nutritional support if their treatment is to be effective. As people migrate to escape the famine and move away from their regular health facilities, they are likely to default on treatment for HIV and TB. Furthermore, crowding in places like the refugee camps increases the risk of spread of TB and other infectious diseases. Children are dropping out of school to join their parents in the search for food; girls are often the first to leave the classroom and easily enter into sexual liaisons or early marriages as a means of survival, reversing the gains made in reproductive health education.
It is evident that the famine will continue to have consequences on the health of communities long after the food shortage has ended. Thus, while emergency relief and other short-term measures are important in stabilising the communities and ensuring minimal loss of life in the present, AMREF is keen to establish long-term strategies to reduce the vulnerability of communities to increasingly frequent and severe climate-related disasters. This can only be done effectively and sustainably by building capacities within communities and helping them to establish or strengthen structures and systems that minimise the effects of famine, especially on their health.
With over 50 years of working with communities in some of the remotest and marginalised parts of Africa, AMREF has extensive experience and knowledge of local problems and remedies, and as such is capable of leading regional prevention and alleviation strategies. We have already stepped up activities to increase access to clean water and sanitation facilities for communities affected by the famine in order to prevent outbreak of diseases like cholera and diarrhoea, which would only add to the suffering. AMREF medical outreach teams are also focusing on treatment of malnutrition and diarrhoea in refugee camps in northern Kenya.
A lot more needs to be done, however. In the medium-term, AMREF will implement measures to address chronic malnutrition, inadequate safe water, poor hygiene and sanitation, and related diseases. In the longer term, we want to contribute to improved and sustainable health of the communities and ultimately their quality of life, in collaboration with governments and other partners. AMREF has observed that, in areas where we have programmes relating to clean water and hygiene, maternal and child health, and HIV, communities are better able to cope with drought situations compared with areas where there are no interventions.
AMREF cannot do this alone. For now, we need the support of the international community to raise US$ 5 million to ensure minimal negative health impact of the drought and famine in the short-term, and to ensure that the people bearing the brunt of the famine are better able to cope its consequences in the medium term.
Dr Teguest Guerma
Director General
AMREF
