East Africa Famine: SOS to expand Emergency Relief to Kenya and Ethiopia

Kenya

Northern Kenya has been one of the areas most affected by the drought. Hundreds of thousands of Somali refugees have fled into Kenya in search of food and water and numbers are increasing daily. Kenya was already struggling to support its own population before the refugees arrived, with an estimated 385,000 malnourished children in the northern regions. Rising food prices have pushed many families into poverty, with the price of maize, the main staple food, having risen by up to 150%. In the Marsabit District, in the north of the country, the last coordinated food distribution was three months ago. Water is scarce and medical services almost non-existent.

SOS Children already run a Family Strengthening Programme (FSP) in Marsabit, so are well positioned to respond urgently to the humanitarian crisis. We plan to support the three vulnerable communities we already work in Marsabit, as well as two additional local villages, which are all together home to over 10,000 people. Working in partnership with other humanitarian agencies including the Red Cross, particular attention will be given to malnourished children, breast-feeding mothers and the elderly. We plan to:

• Provide relief items include food vouchers and cash to purchase food items. Food has already been purchased and will be distributed early next week.
  
• Launch a school feeding program (providing fortified porridge in the morning and lunchtime) to nursery and school pupils
• Provide clean drinking water
• Provide vaccinations and treatments in local clinics for infectious diseases such as malaria, pneumonia, and diarrhoea, which are common in severe drought situations 
• Participate in Therapeutic Feeding Programmes, which focus on caring for severely malnourished persons, especially children.

Ethiopia

Ethiopia also continues to be badly affected by the ongoing drought. Estimates suggest that 4.5 million people in the country are now in need of urgent humanitarian aid, although the figure is likely to be higher. The southern regions of the country have been worse-hit, where a prolonged lack of rainfall has had a devastating impact on farmer’s livestock and businesses, as well impacting on the availability and cost of food. The crisis in Ethiopia is worsened by a steady flow of refugees from Somalia entering the country. UNHCR reports 300 Somalis arrive every day in the Doolow Ado camp. Children under five, pregnant and breast-feeding women are severely affected.

SOS Children already have a Children’s Village and Medical Centre in Gode, in southern Ethiopia. In the past three years, SOS Children have participated in two emergency relief projects in Gode town, so we are well placed and experienced to provide emergency relief in this area. SOS Children plan to:

• Provide maize, wheat and cooking oil to vulnerable families
• Provide preventative and curative health care services
• Use staff from the SOS Medical Centre in Gode to conduct essential outreach interventions.

In partnership with Save the Children, we will also be helping families in the areas of Gode bordering Somalia. The number of Somali refugees having arrived in Moredile kebele in the Adadilo district is increasing at an alarming pace. We plan to provide 1,000 families with rice and oil.

How you can help

You can make a one-off donation directly to our Emergency Relief Programme in Somalia, or take out a child sponsorship to help us to focus on the long-term welfare of children who have no one to care for them as a result of the famine.