MaximsNewsNetwork: 16 October 2009 - UNICEF: With the failure of four consecutive rainy seasons, the impact of drought, hunger and disease is not only felt in eastern Kenya and throughout the Horn of Africa. Across the region, some 24 million people in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, Somalia and parts of Uganda are now in need of humanitarian aid, up from 20 million earlier this year. Among them nearly five million are children under five years of age.
This arid land used to be covered with green pasture.
Once the lifeline for nearby population and their livestock, this part of Ewaso Nyiro River in Eastern Kenya is now completely dried up.
SOUNDBITE (Kiswahili) Ekwam Joseph, 20, Pastoralist:
One hundred and fifty-five of my cattle have died, there are only six remaining. Now that the whole herd of cattle is finished, I dont know what to do to die or to move elsewhere.
With the failure of 4 consecutive rainy seasons, the impact of drought, hunger and disease is not only felt here in Kenya, but throughout the Horn of Africa.
Across the region, some 24 million people, including nearly 5 million children under five are in need of humanitarian aid, up from 20 million earlier this year.
SOUNDBITE (English) Elhadj As Sy, UNICEF Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa:
In times of crises like this, numbers and figures will never tell us the true impact these crises have on the most vulnerable children and families. We are talking about a region where up to 50 percent of children under five are chronically malnourished and one in eight children die before reaching their fifth birthday. If we dont manage to reduce the severe vulnerability of children and their families we will see situations like this occurring over and over again.
This primary school in Basa, Eastern Kenya has been closed because of a cholera outbreak. Five Basa villagers have died, and more than 80 adults and children have been treated for diarrhoea and vomiting.
Fatumas children are suffering from diarrhoea and malnutrition. The familys survival now depends on relief food.
With the loss of cattle, three-year-old Sofia no longer has milk to drink. The 20 liters of relief water they get once a week can hardly meet the family of 9s cooking and washing needs.
SOUNDBITE (Boran) Fatuma Abduba, 40, mother of two:
Women are the most affected - they trek for long distances to look for water, they wake up at 4 in the morning and come back at 6 in the evening when the sun has set, finding their children thirsty and hungry and they have suffered.
Despite the increasing humanitarian needs, aid agencies like UNICEF are faced with funding shortages. By the end of September, UNICEF had only received a third of the 189 million us dollars the agency appealed for its emergency operations in the Horn of Africa.
SOUNDBITE (English) Elhadj As Sy, UNICEF Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa:
We appeal to the donor community to urgently increase their support and to help us strengthen the capacity of governments and humanitarian actors in the Horn to assist children and families in need. It is also urgent that we draw lessons from the past, preparedness and proactive response are key. If we wait until the emergency hits—of course we can always respond—but the response may not be as adequate as if it was prepared well in advance.
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I don't see this no where on the news
Dealz1988 2 years ago