Emergency response to reach 1.8 million people
Geneva, July 11, 2011 – CARE International, one of the world's leading aid agencies, has launched an emergency appeal for £16 million to provide food, water and emergency relief to people affected by the drought in Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya. CARE is already providing emergency assistance to nearly one million people, but additional funding is urgently needed to scale up our response to the growing crisis.
More than ten million people in Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia and Djibouti are in need of humanitarian assistance, with the number growing by the day. In Dadaab, the world's largest refugee camp in the world, more than 1,500 people are arriving daily in desperate need of food, water and shelter. The UN is predicting the situation will deteriorate and continue into next year. Despite the severity of the crisis, just half the amount needed to fund the humanitarian response has been committed by international donors so far.
CARE is planning to scale up our response to reach 1.8 million people in Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya.
"This is a severe crisis which requires our immediate assistance. The current crisis builds upon years of consecutive droughts and deteriorating conditions. As livestock have died en masse, pastoralists are losing their main assets and means to survive. They have nothing left to feed their families," says Barbara Jackson, CARE International's Humanitarian Director. "It is very important to recognize that people need not only humanitarian relief but long-term assistance to become resilient to the impact of droughts. The Horn of Africa is a chronically food insecure area and the underlying reasons for this, including deep poverty, social injustice, climate change and conflict, need to be tackled once and for all to break this deadly cycle of recurring food crises."
CARE's emergency response in the Horn of Africa includes assistance for commercial and slaughter de-stocking of animals; therapeutic and supplementary feeding;cash transfers to households affected with children suffering from severe malnutrition ; provision of water through water tankering; distribution of water treatment supplies; training on safe hygiene and supporting livelihoods through cash-for-work programs. In the refugee camps of Dadaab, CARE is the primary distributor of food, water and primary education for the more than 380,000 refugees.
CARE Response in Detail
Ethiopia
Beneficiaries reached to date: 241,587
CARE is scaling up its emergency response to address the needs of 855,000 people in four sectors: food assistance; nutrition; water, sanitation and hygiene; and support to livelihoods (agriculture and livestock).
Our response is currently focused in Oromia region (Borena, East and West Hararghe zones) and in Afar region (Zone 5). CARE is considering expanding in other regions.
Somalia (Puntland and Somaliland)
Beneficiaries reached to date: 164,000
CARE plans to scale up its interventions to address water and sanitation, and support livelihoods.
CARE has been responding to the current drought conditions in the northern regions of Puntland and Somaliland by rehabilitating water harvesting structures such as water pans, shallow wells; supporting livelihoods by implementing cash-for-work programs and cash relief to most vulnerable households in the affected areas.
Kenya
Beneficiaries reached to date: 537,000
CARE has assisted 167, 000 people in Kenya's North Eastern region and plans to scale up and reach an additional 200,000 in the coming weeks.
CARE Kenya has been addressing drought conditions with emphasis on addressing long-term vulnerabilities and strengthening community resilience.
CARE Kenya is emphasizing disaster risk management measures owned by the local communities and supports district veterinary department teams to vaccinate animals against the expected increase in diseases and need for treatment.
Dadaab: CARE is the primary distributor of food, water and primary education for the more than 370,000 refugees currently living in the world's largest refugee camp.
-Ends-
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
