East Africa Emergency Appeal - March 2006
Christian
Aid has received reports of people dying of thirst, and up to 70% of
livestock have been lost as the predominately pastoralist communities
move their cattle in desperate search of food and watering holes.
Food, water and humanitarian aid must reach the 11 million people affected by the crisis if we are to prevent this becoming a major catastrophe. Christian Aid is already working with partners across the region in Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia, Uganda and Tanzania.
Christian Aid’s immediate response:
Kenya
In Kenya, 3.5 million people are in need of urgent help. Through our
partners Northern Aid, we are working in the Mandera district and
funding water tankers that are providing 52,000 litres of water a day
to vulnerable communities.
Ethiopia
In
southern Ethiopia we are working with our partner Ethiopian Evangelical
Church Mekane Yesus (EECMY) to distribute water to people in the
southern part of the Oromiya region on Kenya’s northern border.
Somalia
We are working with our partner Norwegian Church Aid to provide clean water to 30,000 people in the south of the country.
Uganda and Tanzania
We are assessing the needs in these two countries and working with partners on what response is needed.
What are the long-term needs?
If the rains and widespread humanitarian aid doesn’t come soon the situation in the region could get much worse. Yet we must also look at the long term and address the causes and responses that will enable people to be less vulnerable to future crisis.
Although drought may be the immediate cause, Christian Aid believes that it is poverty itself that leaves people vulnerable and without alternatives when a disaster strikes.
Evidence now strongly suggests the region will continue to suffer drought caused largely by environmental degradation and climate change.
In many cases forced liberalisation has prevented governments from providing an adequate intervention as national food stocks are subject to hefty conditions imposed by international financial institutions.
After the immediate crisis Christian Aid will support partners such as the Anglican Church of Kenya to help people recover from the effects of the drought by providing seeds and tools and repairing or rebuilding local irrigations pumps and engines.
In the longer term we will look at lessening the vulnerability of communities reliant on ever decreasing rainfall.
Extracted from the Christian Aid website