These thorny bushes cannot be consumed by livestock. © CARE / Sandra Bulling.In Borena, southern Ethiopia the last two rainy seasons have brought no water. The drought took one third of all livestock and has left families without income.
Baby Tekle is sleeping soundly. His mother, Gamu Kamad, is relieved. Just a few days ago, the 11-month old could do nothing but vomit. He could nor crawl or play as he was too weak.
Recently Tekle has had no proper food – only water. Gamu had no money to buy milk and most of her cattle died. In the Borena zone, in southern Ethiopia, the last two rainy seasons did not bring any water and drought has gripped the region.
In the Moyale district, where Borena is located, the land is brown and dusty. Bushes and trees have lost their leaves. Trunks and branches reach naked into the air. A little green is left on thorny shrubberies and Acacia trees, but they are too dangerous or too high for cattle to reach.
Gamud and Tekle have found help in a health center in the town of Moyale, run by the local government. Tekle was weighed and screened – he was diagnosed with severe acute malnutrition. He was brought to a stabilisation center run by CARE Ethiopia where he is receiving therapeutic supplementary food.
Tekle will keep getting treatment until his condition improves and he reaches a normal weight for a boy of his age. Gamud will also receive food so that mother and baby are both strong.
"I was very worried about Tekle," she explains. "We came here four days ago, his condition is already much better." She looks at the tiny bundle lying next to her, still sleeping calmly. "Before I brought him here, he could not open his eyes any more. He threw up the water I gave him. But now he gets stronger every day."
The health centres
The health centers in the Moyale district have experienced a rise in malnutrition cases for children under five. Almost 500 severely malnourished children were admitted from January to June. In 2010, this was the rate for the entire year.
In the Borena culture, children are given the most food. They eat first, followed by the father and then the mother. Now the children get the little food they have, but now this has run out and there is no money to buy more.
Tekle was lucky. Life has returned to him, thanks to CARE's and the government's interventions. But many more children and their parents need assistance now and will continue to in the coming months. They need urgent humanitarian support, but they need also a long-term strategy to become more resilient to the impacts of drought. So Tekle's mother is able to buy him food when the next drought hits.
Please donate to our emergency response fund
Longer term work
In addition to our immediate response in the face of this current food crisis CARE International emphasises the need to tackle the long-term, underlying causes of poverty. We have been present in the region for over 25 years and are helping families to break the cycle of hunger and to adapt to the changing climate and recurring droughts.
Our ongoing work in the region includes:
- Maintenance, protection and development of water points and wells.
- Working with women in Mandera, Kenya to revive traditional food preservation techniques.
- Vaccination of animals to prevent diseases breaking out as they congregate at remaining water points.
- Helping families have more consistent sources of income by supporting them in diversifying their work.
Read more stories from the East Africa Food Crisis:
Staff blog: Sabine Wilke, Emergency Media Officer in Dadaab - 12 August
Video: East Africa Crisis - CARE's response - 12 August
Slideshow: Dadaab refugee camp - 12 August
Somalia to Dadaab: a journey filled with danger - 10 August
Somalia: famine declared in three additional regions of South-Central - 5 August
Ethiopia: in a drought prevention pays - 26 July 2011
Staff Blog: Confusion and waiting in Dadaab, Kenya - 18 July 2011
Staff Blog: "The need for food assistance is increasing at alarming rate" - 16 July 2011
Urgency grows in the Horn of Africa - 15 July 2011
Slideshow: More pictures from the East Africa Food Crisis - 14 July 2011
Staff Blog: Horn of Africa Food Crisis - Dadaab refugee camp - 8 July 2011
Slideshow: East Africa Food Crisis - 8 July 2011
Horn of Africa: The most severe food crisis in the world - 1 July 2011
Reviving traditions to survice drought in Kenya - 3 June 2011
Ethiopia food shortage: The worst is yet to come - 25 May 2011
Press releases from the East Africa food Crisis:
Saving cattle can save lives in drought-stricken Africa - 29 July 2011
DEC East Africa Crisis Appeal reaches £30 million - 25 July 2011
DEC East Africa Crisis Appeal reaches £27 million - 22 July 2011
DEC East Africa Crisis Appeal reaches £20 million - 18 July 2011
DEC East Africa Crisis Appeal reaches £18 million - 18 July 2011
Violence against women doubles in giant East Africa refugee camp - 17 July 2011
DEC East Africa Crisis Appeal reaches £15 million - 14 July 2011
DEC East Africa Crisis Appeal reaches £13 million - 13 July 2011
DEC agencies prepare to scale up work in Somalia - 13 July 2011
Reported cases of sexual violence have quadrupled among refugees - 12 July 2011
Horn of Africa food crisis: CARE launches £16 million appeal - 11 July 2011
UK donations for East Africa Crisis Appeal reach £8 million - 10 July 2011
DEC aims to help prevent East Africa Crisis becoming a catastrophe - 10 July 2011
DEC East Africa Crisis Appeal reaches £6 million - 9 July 2011
Aid delivered in East Africa as DEC Appeals broadcast in UK - 8 July 2011
Africa’s newest country in grip of food crisis - 8 July 2011
DEC announces East Africa Crisis Appeal - 7 July 2011
Drought in Kenya: “Situation of refugees is grave” - 4 July 2011
Horn of Africa: CARE calls for more attention to severe food insecurity - 19 May 2011
