Together saving more lives

East Africa Drought 2011

East Africa Crisis; famine in East Africa; aid agencies, humanitarian crises, international aid agencies, canadian aid agencies

Population affected:

13.3 million

Funds raised:

14 million

Beginning of the appeal

July 6, 2011

(Please note that we are no longer accepting donations for this appeal, please visit our How to Help portal for more information on donating to the Humanitarian Coalition). 

 

Because of one of the worst droughts in 60 years, more than 13 million people in Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, and the newly-formed Republic of South Sudan were left in need of food, water and emergency healthcare. Hundreds of thousands of people fled Somalia due to the drought and conflict, and parts of the country were afflicted by famine.

Donations from the Canadian public for the appeal have raised $14 million and have helped hundreds of thousands of people. Humanitarian Coalition fundraising for this appeal is now closed; money raised through the donor program will be spent over a two year period ending in July 2013 to ensure people are helped not just to survive the humanitarian crisis but also to begin to rebuild their lives.

Examples of how the Humanitarian Coalition member agencies have responded, and the work they continue to do in East Africa can be found below.

 

Our Member Agencies' Response

CARE Canada
Oxfam Canada & Oxfam Québec
Plan Canada
Save the Children Canada

CARE’s Response to the Drought Crisis

CARE has decades of experience in the affected region and is responding to the urgent needs of drought-affected individuals. CARE is working in Ethiopia, Northern Somalia (Somaliland & Puntland), and Kenya particularly in the provision of clean water and food. In Kenya, CARE is responding to the refugee crisis that has arisen as a result of the drought, and is the primary distributor of food, water and primary education for the 400,000 refugees currently living in the world’s largest refugee camp, Dabaab.

To date, CARE has:

  • In Kenya, CARE is providing food, water, primary education and psychological support to over 400,000 residents in the Dadaab refugee camp
  • CARE is also working with 305,000 people in north-eastern Kenya to reduce long-term vulnerabilities
  • In Ethiopia, CARE is providing emergency food and water, and implementing livelihood assistance such as seed distribution
  • CARE is also reaching families in Northern Somalia with water source rehabilitation and livelihoods support
Find out more about Care Canada's work in East Africa

Oxfam’s Response in East Africa

Oxfam's response to the drought includes programs in Somaliland, Ethiopia and Kenya with a mixture of emergency aid, long-term development and prevention, and advocacy to address the root causes of chronic drought. Oxfam aims to provide food, clean water and hygiene facilities.

Among other activities, Oxfam's actions in the areas affected by drought include providing food, clean water and hygiene facilities, the construction/repair of water tanks and wells and “de-stocking” programs (for pastoralist' livestock).

  • Oxfam has helped 1.52 million people in the Horn of Africa since July 1st
  • Oxfam partners are operating the single largest public health program in Somalia, providing clean water to 329,000 displaced Somalis in camps outside Mogadishu and operating the largest therapeutic feeding program for children and mothers in Somalia
  • Seeds are distributed to 18,000 beneficiaries in Somalia in the event of rain
  • In Kenya, Oxfam has supported over 622,200 pastoralists and refugees with essential water, sanitation and hygiene activities as well as food distribution and cash transfer programs
  • In Ethiopia, Oxfam has reached more than 60,465 people with water, sanitation and hygiene kits
 
Find out more about Oxfam Canada's work in East Africa

Plan's Response to the Drought Crisis

Plan has been working for many years in the region to strengthen communities against drought but a combination of failed rains, climate change and rising food prices have put more than 10 million people at high risk.

Plan's most immediate efforts in helping over 260,000 people in Kenya and more than 1 million people in Ethiopia includes providing critically needed high-protein and calorie-rich food supplements to children, breastfeeding moms, and pregnant women suffering from malnutrition.

Plan is also providing supplementary feeding to needy households and families; delivering medicine; trucking clean water to health facilities and schools; and providing medical training for health workers

Plan has also been active in outreach to local parents on awareness and promotion of child protection strategies during emergencies.

Find out more about Plan Canada's work in East Africa

Save the Children's Response to the Drought Crisis

Save the Children has worked in East Africa for decades and was able to respond very quickly to the unfolding crisis. As we race to address the scale of the humanitarian needs in the region, the following are examples of Save the Children’s response so far.

Save the Children reached over 1 million people across East Africa - 500,000 in Ethiopia, 410,000 in Kenya and nearly 100,000 in Somalia - with water & sanitation, nutrition, health, child protection and education programming.

Emergency water trucking by Save the Children provided over 27 million litres of clean water to over 135,000 people and provided basic healthcare to over 150,000 people.

Save the Children is scaling-up child protection activities in Dadaab including the screening and training of 300 foster parents and continues to respond to cases of child exploitation and neglect - over 1000 separated or unaccompanied children have been added to our caseload.

Find out more about Save the Children's work in East Africa
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