Human Wrongs Watch
By UNICEF – UN Children Fund*
Millions of children are at risk from one of the worst climate-induced emergencies in decades.
Four consecutive seasons of poor rainfall, sharp increases in food prices, and conflict have pushed children and families in the Horn of Africa to the brink of climate change-induced catastrophe.
Exceptional drought across large swathes of Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Eritrea and Djibouti has unleashed hunger, thirst, displacement and death on already vulnerable communities as crops fail and livestock die.
By late December 2022, around 20.2 million children across Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia were facing the threat of severe hunger, thirst and disease.
Communities have been forced to take extreme measures to survive, with thousands of children and families leaving their homes out of pure desperation in search of water, food, pasture, and treatment for sick children.
The situation continues to deteriorate, exacerbating a climate-induced crisis that was already depriving children of the essentials of childhood – enough to eat, safe water, school, health services.
Communities have been forced to take extreme measures to survive, with thousands of children and families leaving their homes out of pure desperation in search of water, food, pasture, and treatment for sick children.
The situation continues to deteriorate, exacerbating a climate-induced crisis that was already depriving children of the essentials of childhood – enough to eat, safe water, school, health services.
UNICEF is scaling-up the procurement and positioning of essential lifesaving supplies, building on its longstanding presence in the region and working with partners to expand critical services. Read more about UNICEF’s response and what UNICEF is calling for.
How are children affected?
Without water, crops cannot grow, and animals and livestock die. The resulting loss of nutritious food, coupled with poor access to safe water and sanitation, exposes children to a high risk of malnutrition. The number of children in the Horn of Africa region who are suffering from severe acute malnutrition – the deadliest form of malnutrition – has soared.
Meanwhile, children are at risk of dropping out of school to care for animals, go on ever longer journeys to collect water, or work to help support their families – and in doing so, face greater risks of exploitation, abuse or violence.
Many are also losing their homes as families are driven from their homes in a desperate search for food, water, pasture and livelihoods, compounding already significant existing levels of internal displacement due to conflict and political instability.
The humanitarian situation in Somalia remains extremely serious: assistance must be sustained and improved to continue to prevent famine
*SOURCE: UNICEF. Go to ORIGINAL.
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Baher Kamal
HUMAN WRONGS WATCH 
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