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At least 20.2 million children across the Horn of Africa face severe food shortage as climate change, conflict, global inflation and grain shortages devastate the region, according to Unicef.

The number of those suffering from food insecurity in Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia has more than doubled in the last five months of 2022.

In July 2022, the number of children in dire need of food in the three countries stood at 10 million.

“While collective and accelerated efforts have mitigated some of the worst impact of what had been feared, children in the Horn
of Africa are still facing the most severe drought in more
than two generations,” Unicef Deputy Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa Lieke van de Wiel said.

According to Unicef, humanitarian assistance must be continued to save lives and build resilience of the staggering number of children and families who are being pushed to the
edge – dying from hunger and disease and being displaced in search of food, water and pasture for their livestock.

Nearly two million children across Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia are currently estimated to require urgent treatment for severe acute malnutrition, the deadliest form of hunger.

Additionally, in the three countries, more than two million people are displaced internally because of drought.

Water insecurity has more than doubled with close to 24 million people now confronting dire water shortages.

At the same time, approximately 2.7 million children are out of school because of the drought, with an additional estimated four million children at risk of dropping out.

Increased stress

As families are driven to the edge dealing with increased stress, children face a range of protection risks – including child labour, child marriage and Female Genital Mutilation. Gender-Based Violence, including sexual violence, exploitation and abuse, is also increasing due to widespread food insecurity and displacement.

“We need a global effort to mobilise resources urgently to reduce further devastating and irreversible damage to children in the Horn of Africa. We must act now to save children’s lives, preserve their dignity and protect their futures,” observed
Lieke van de Wiel, calling on regional governments, donors and other partners to pull together and prevent child deaths in the region.