Floods cause concern in the Horn of Africa

November 29, 2006

After battling drought and severe food shortages for the past year, the people of the Horn of Africa now face further tragedy as floods wreak havoc on the region.

Heavy rains in Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia over the past month have burst river banks and compounded the already difficult task of getting food to people in need.

Aid agencies like World Vision are facing uphill battles as access to food distribution points have been cut off. The flooding is going to increase the numbers of people needing food aid, says World Vision’s Humanitarian and Emergency Affairs Director Beatrice Mwangi.

“The main problem is that even though we’ve pre-positioned the food, it’s the access,” she says.

The latest figures show that 340,000 beneficiaries of the emergency operation food distributions cannot be reached because of the flooding.

Failed rains over the past two years, and a dry first half of this year, have left an estimated 14 million people in five countries – Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia, Tanzania and Burundi – in need of food assistance. World Vision has been working to distribute food in the region for most of this year.

As well as food aid, the agency has been working with communities to enhance farmers’ capacity to deal with droughts and avoid famines.

World Vision New Zealand journalist Tennille Bergin visited the region earlier this year and saw the programmes at work.

“I met farmers who are learning to plant and harvest drought-resistant crops, which will help mitigate the effects of weather extremities like the current drought,” she says.

“So many in this region are subsistence farmers who look only to the next harvest. World Vision is teaching them about the importance of saving crops for upcoming seasons.”

The torrential rains and the damage they’re causing is just another blow for people already facing immense struggles, says Ms Bergin.

“But the people I met are so resilient – they take the hard knocks and find a way to make life better for themselves and their children. They are determined in a way we in New Zealand could learn from!”

This year’s floods are the worst since 1997, not because of the amount of water but because the environment has degraded in the past decade with increasing desertification and erosion. Initially it was thought this year’s short rains would bring relief for the drought-stricken region, but the opposite has in fact occurred, says Ms Bergin.

“Instead of the water being the much-needed blessing, it has just brought more problems.”

World Vision Kenya has provided 1,000 blankets to the Red Cross for distribution. World Vision Somalia is sending a team for flood relief support – this week supplies are heading to the Middle Juba region of the country, hoping to reach nearly 120,000 people affected by the floods. The relief packages include plastic sheeting, blankets, jerry cans, bed sheets, soap and chlorine tablets.

Ethiopia’s Federal Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Agency (DPPA) appealed for about US$7 million last week to meet emergency requirements, logistics support and some medium-term rehabilitation.

DPPA Director General, Simon Mechale said the floods have hampered necessary emergency interventions.

Accordingly, Mr Mechale called on all humanitarian organisations to give their undivided attention to the appeal, to move quickly to respond to the disaster.

Increased incidents of water-borne diseases, including diarrhea, have exacerbated the situation, he said. World Vision Ethiopia is collating drugs, to fight problems such as intestinal parasitic infestations and respiratory tract infections, which will be distributed in the affected areas over the next week.