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Severe drought in the Horn of Africa

27 July 2011

Travel Health advice for those working in the affected areas...

The United Nations (UN) has reported that several countries in the Horn of Africa have been hit by the worst drought in 60 years which is now affecting over 11 million people.

The UN now classifies large areas of Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia, Djibouti, South Sudan, and Uganda as a crisis or an emergency, and famine has been officially declared in five areas of south-central Somalia.

The impact of the drought is resulting in very significant rises in food prices and maize grain, while livestock are dying in very large numbers.

Although Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia saw the late arrival of the long pastoral rains (March-May), the rainfall amounts received were low and insufficient to sustain human and livestock water consumption and regenerate pasture until the next rainy season (expected in October).

In the United Kingdom, the Disasters Emergency Committee is organising a major campaign to raise funds for the victims of the drought in East Africa.

Kenya

Kenya has declared the drought a national disaster: inflation in Kenya is at 14% - the highest in two years and is expected to rise further. It is estimated that 3.5 million people are at risk of starvation and are in need of humanitarian aid in Kenya.

Three camps at Dadaab (Dagahaley, Ifo and Hagaderaare) are located just inside the Kenya border and were built to hold 90,000 people but are currently home to over 380,000 resulting in severe overcrowding and resources being stretched to the limit. In the settlements on the outskirts of Dagahaley camp, 17.5 % of children between six months and five years of age are severely malnourished, three times the emergency level, according to Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF).

Oxfam reported that 60,000 new arrivals were living in basic tents outside the camp boundaries, with limited access to clean water or latrines, risking an outbreak of disease.

Somalia

The United Nations says 2.8 million people in Somalia need emergency aid. In the worst-hit areas, one in three children is suffering from malnutrition. River levels in Somalia are said to be at historic lows, while water and cereal prices have registered their highest increases in 12 months.

The combination of the ongoing war in Somalia and the drought has resulted in an average of 1300 people arriving daily in the Dadaab camps on the Kenya-Somalia border. Many of them have walked for days to get there and, on arrival, are exhausted, in poor health and desperate for food and water supplies.

Somalia's militant Islamist group al-Shabab has lifted a ban on foreign aid agencies, which had been imposed in 2009.

Large numbers of drought displaced people have fled to the capital, Mogadishu, over thye past two months. Many of them require hospital treatment and this has resulted in a shortage of drugs in the local hospitals.

Ethiopia

According to the latest Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWSNET) and World Food Programme (WFP) joint food security report, the cumulative effects of the failed October to December 2010 rains and the insignificant contribution of early 2011 rains means that food security in lowland and pastoral areas will be classified at emergency levels in the coming months until the next rainy season between October and December 2011. Currently, 3.2 million people are in urgent need of humanitarian aid in Ethiopia according to the UN.

The Ethiopian authorities have opened a new camp primarily for Somalis at Kobe, near an existing camp at Melkadida. More than 3500 refugees have moved there over the past few days. This is the sixth camp for Somalis in Ethiopia, which is currently housing 130,000 displaced people.

Djibouti

Current estimates show that 117,000 people are in urgent need of humanitarian aid in Djibouti.

Advice for those travelling to or working in the affected areas:

Vaccinations

Check you are in date for the following:

  • Diphtheria & Tetanus
  • Hepatitis A
  • Hepatitis B
  • Meningitis ACWY
  • MMR (Measles, Mumps & Rubella) or history of measles as a child
  • Polio
  • Rabies
  • Typhoid
  • Yellow fever - if travelling between the countries affected by the drought it is worth having this vaccine as there are country variations as to whether it is recommended

 Detailed information about the above vaccinations can be found on InterHealth's Travel Health Advice Centre (only available to TravelWell Plan subscribers).

Malaria

Malaria risk is present. Your choice of malaria prevention medication is from the following:

Kits

We recommend you carry the following:


Access further information and resources

For further information and resources visit InterHealth's Travel Health Advice Centre (only available to TravelWell Plan subscribers).

  • Diarrhoea & dysentery
  • Malaria fact sheet
  • Insect protectio
  • Sunburn
    • Skin: how to take care of yours
    • Ethiopia country profile
    • Kenya country profile
    • Somalia country profile

Sources: United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), BBC News Online, IRIN