Skip to content
ELCA Blogs

Lutheran Disaster Response

Situation Report: Horn of Africa Drought

Situation:A map of Africa with Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia highlighted.

The Horn of Africa is in the midst of one of its worst droughts in recent history, severely impacting more than 15 million people across Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia. Water is needed for drinking, cooking and hygiene, so the lack of water has greatly affected people’s wellbeing. Food security is also a concern as the drought is causing families to lose livestock used for food and livelihoods. Extreme droughts, such as this one, will become increasingly more common as changes in climate affect rainfall patterns.

Three women walking and carrying food. Photo from ACT Alliance.

Response:

Lutheran Disaster Response is supporting an ACT Alliance appeal to address the humanitarian crisis resulting from the drought in the Horn of Africa. Through this appeal, implementing partners in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia will provide food aid, cash-based assistance, safe and accessible water, psychosocial support, livelihood improvement strategies and climate-induced disaster risk reduction. To provide access to safe water, partners intend to bring in water to areas, repair existing water infrastructure and educate local communities in WASH (water, sanitation, hygiene) practices.

 

 

Be part of the response:

Pray
Please pray for people who have been affected by the drought in the Horn of Africa. May God’s healing presence give them peace and hope in their time of need.

Give
Thanks to generous donations, Lutheran Disaster Response is able to respond quickly and effectively to disasters around the globe. Your gifts to Lutheran Disaster Response (Horn of Africa Drought) will be used entirely (100%) to assist those impacted by drought in Africa.

To learn more about the situation and the ELCA’s response:

  • Sign up to receive Lutheran Disaster Response alerts.
  • Check the Lutheran Disaster Response blog.
  • Like Lutheran Disaster Response on Facebook, follow @ELCALDR on Twitter, and follow @ELCA_LDR on Instagram.
  • Download the situation report and share as a PDF.