World Vision continues its response in areas of the Horn of Africa devastated by drought.

By Rachael Boyer and Shawna Templeton, World Vision, U.S. Photo by Jon Warren, World Vision U.S.

According to the United Nations, more than 13.3 million people are in need of humanitarian aid in the drought-ravaged Horn of Africa. An estimated 35 percent of all children in the region face emergency levels of malnutrition.

With the support of generous donors, we are helping save lives and sustain livelihoods through interventions, such as:
•    Distributing therapeutic food, in partnership with the World Food Program, especially for children and women
•    Improving water and sanitation by trucking in water, rehabilitating wells, and providing water storage tanks
•    Providing assistance for refugees and displaced families in camps
•    Supporting agriculture by providing seeds for farmers and food for livestock
•    Promoting practices to make land more drought-resistant

Below is a report on our activities in the three most severely impacted countries: Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia.

Kenya
In the Dadaab refugee camp in Kenya — the largest such camp in the world —World Vision coordinated the distribution and assembly of 5,000 tents provided by ShelterBox.

In addition to the general interventions mentioned above, our efforts in Kenya so far include:
•    Providing displaced families with kits containing items like blankets, pots, and mosquito nets to prevent malaria
•    Helping build resilience though projects like water storage systems, planting trees, and setting up irrigation systems

Somalia
The UN has officially declared famine in five regions of Somalia, where lack of rain and soaring food prices have resulted in dangerously high malnutrition rates, especially among young children.

Rains that began just recently brought relief to many parts of Somalia that have been experiencing drought. However, many people will still rely on humanitarian aid for months to come, until they harvest their first crop and livestock regenerates.

World Vision has worked in Somalia since 1992, but in 2010, armed groups demanded that most aid organizations leave the south-central area of the country. We are able to work in some parts of Somalia, but we currently cannot access the epicenter of the famine, in part due to lack of security for aid workers. We also serve families in Somalia through partner community organizations.

Please pray that the situation will change, and that World Vision and other organizations will be granted safe access to bring life-saving food and care to the children and families who are in such dire need.

Without improved access, as many as 750,000 Somalis may die in the next few months.

In the areas where we are able to work, we are intervening through:
•    Cash-for-work programs
•    Water catchments restoration
•    New borehole construction

Due to the rainy season, we expect cases of waterborne diseases and malaria to rise drastically. World Vision has stocked up on necessary medicines to meet the expected needs. We are also fast-tracking the process of acquiring and distributing shelter material to protect displaced families.

Nearly 700,000 Somalis have fled to refugee camps in Kenya and Ethiopia, where we are providing assistance. Kits with non-food items are distributed to families who arrive at refugee camps, often with nothing but the clothes on their backs. Kits contain things like blankets, a bucket, a cooking pot, and a mosquito net.

Ethiopia
An outbreak of measles at a refugee camp in Dollo Ado (near the Somali border) is increasing child mortality rates as tiny, malnourished immune systems struggle to cope with cramped living conditions.

In Ethiopia, we are responding with:

•    Emergency food
•    Seeds for vegetables and other crops
•    Non-food items such as blankets, mattresses, and utensils
•    Training for local staff and community members in bee-keeping
•    Commodity management training to staff
•    Support for malnourished children with medical complications
•    Supplementary food for malnourished children under 5, pregnant women, and breastfeeding mothers.

In the Dollo Ado refugee camp, World Vision is building semi-permanent schools and libraries, distributing uniforms and school supplies, and providing teacher training. These schools allow displaced children to continue learning and maintain some sense of a normal life.