Xinhua
13 May 2022, 22:25 GMT+10
NAIROBI, May 13 (Xinhua) -- Senior ministers from the Horn of African states on Friday made a fresh appeal for robust funding to support humanitarian interventions for about 40.4 million people affected by drought.
The high-level ministerial summit convened by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital, vowed to mobilize resources to cater for emergency food aid, clean water and health services in the drought hotspots.
Workney Gebeyehu, the IGAD's executive secretary, noted that food and water insecurity had escalated in the region, hence the need for joint efforts to plug the funding shortfall and avert a humanitarian crisis.
According to Gebeyehu, about 6.3 billion U.S. dollars was urgently required to support the emergency response to the unfolding food scarcity in the Horn of African region, fueled by climate change, the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukraine crisis.
"The number of people in need of humanitarian assistance in the region has risen by 30 percent since April hence our call for increased funding to sustain their livelihoods," said Gebeyehu.
According to the figures from the IGAD, some 8.1 million people are food insecure in Ethiopia, 3.5 million in Kenya, 7.7 million in Somalia, 8.9 million in South Sudan, 10.6 million in Sudan, and 1.6 million in Uganda.
Margaret Kobia, Kenya's cabinet secretary for Public Service, Gender, Senior Citizen Affairs and Special Programs, said the government had rallied behind regional initiatives to boost funding for drought response and Kenya has leveraged domestic financing to provide emergency support including food rations, clean water and medicine to about 3.5 million people affected by drought.
She disclosed that the Kenyan government has spent 8.7 billion shillings (about 74.94 million U.S. dollars) to cater to drought intervention across the water, health, livestock and social protection sectors.
Kobia said that Kenya aimed to plug a funding shortfall of 100 million dollars to sustain drought response in the coming months before the onset of October-December short rains when food production is expected to stabilize.
Esther Anyakun, the Ugandan minister of State for Disaster Preparedness and Refugees, called for sharing of best practices and enhanced coordination to boost funding for drought response across the Horn of African region.
Get a daily dose of Kenya Star news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Kenya Star.
More InformationCAPE TOWN, South Africa: The U.S. Embassy in South Africa said it received a list of over 67,000 people interested in refugee status...
Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh) [India], March 30 (ANI): Faf du Plessis's fiery fifty and Mitchell Starc's scorching five-wicket haul...
New Delhi [India], March 30 (ANI): Former India cricketer-turned-commentator Sanjay Manjrekar feels former Mumbai Indians skipper Rohit...
Melbourne [Australia], March 30 (ANI): Cricket Australia on Sunday announced a blockbuster schedule for the men and women's senior...
(250330) -- SINGAPORE, March 30, 2025 (Xinhua) -- Nakanishi Yuki (R) of Japan guards against Kelvin Lim Hong Da of Singapore during...
Abu Dhabi [UAE], March 30 (ANI/WAM): The United Arab Emirates continues to support relief and humanitarian aid efforts for Sudanese...
DUBLIN, Ireland: As tensions rise between the United States and the European Union over potential tariffs, Ireland's Central Bank governor...
Tokyo [Japan], March 30 (ANI): US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth emphasised the strong alliance between the United States and Japan...
Washington has asked companies that work with the US government to drop their diversity programs France's Ministry of Foreign Trade...
ABU DHABI, 30th March, 2025 (WAM) -- The United Arab Emirates has welcomed the announcement of the formation of the new Syrian government,...
(250330) -- PESHAWAR, March 30, 2025 (Xinhua) -- A man carries special cupcakes at a shop on the eve of Eid al-Fitr holiday in Peshawar,...
Estonia and Lithuania are concerned Moscow could redeploy its forces to their borders if the fighting stops, the outlet has said ...