The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Tuesday raised new concerns about the climate situation in the Horn of Africa where drought is taking on “unprecedented” proportions.
“Communities in the Horn of Africa are facing a likely fifth consecutive poor rainy season, with rains from October to December 2022 having started badly and forecasts indicating that they are likely to be less abundant, and could be facing an insufficient sixth season between March and May 2023,” writes OCHA in its latest update on the drought situation in this part of the black continent.
The worsening of the climatic situation in this region of sub-Saharan Africa is likely to further accentuate food and health insecurity among many communities in the region.
According to OCHA, “at least 36.4 million people will be affected by the most prolonged and severe drought in recent history during the last months of 2022”, including 24.1 million in Ethiopia, 7.8 million in Somalia and 4.5 million in Kenya.