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Christine Amolo, 30, from Pader, Uganda, with her children in her garden where the sorghum she planted has been affected by the poor rain and scorching heat in what should have been a rainy season for planting crops.
Photo by Sylvia Nabanoba, World Vision Uganda. |
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School children in Kakolie Muslim Primary School in Moroto town, Uganda, eating porridge made out of maize grain in the hunger stricken Karamoja region.
Photo by Simon Peter Esaku, World Vision Uganda. |
Severe, consecutive drought over much of the Horn of Africa has pushed more than 12 million people into acute need.
The crisis has been exacerbated by soaring global food and fuel prices, insecurity in most of the countries, the inability of farmers to access adequate farming resources, and the outbreak of both animal and human diseases associated with dry conditions.
According the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs’ (UNOCHA) Horn of Africa Alert Report for June, “The overall food security situation in the Horn of Africa for the first half of 2009 has remained alarming, and prospects for the second half of the year are grim. An estimated 19.8 million people, including 4 million children under the age of five, are in need of emergency assistance. This is a sharp increase from the 14 million people requiring such assistance in September 2008.”
World Vision is targeting to assist some 2 million people from Ethiopia, Uganda, Somalia and Kenya – the most severely affected countries in the Horn of Africa.
(1) Horn of Africa Food Crisis appeal
In response to the critical needs of the children and families, World Vision Singapore’s supporters donated a total of S$431,266.
(2) How donations are used
World Vision has established the Horn of Africa Emergency Food Response (HAFER) Unit to ensure that a coordinated response and effective support are being provided to the countries most affected by the food crisis.
Short-term Intervention (180 days)
- Provide emergency food aid, healthcare, water and sanitation.
- Provide nutrition and immunisation for malnourished mothers and children.
- Establish and strengthen nutrition and food security system within countries.
- Improve access and quality of healthcare services to address health
problems among communities.
Long-term Intervention (2 - 3 years)
- Implement agriculture and livestock recovery.
- Provide climate-appropriate seeds, tools and sustainable agricultural training.
- Focus on improving yields and promoting crops which are more resilient to environmental stresses.
- Tackle and address policy issues with key stakeholders including governments.
