Situation:

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.

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.

Situation

Since November 2020, an ongoing conflict in Tigray, a region of Ethiopia, has caused a humanitarian crisis. People have been forced to leave their homes, becoming internally displaced people (IDPs) in the neighboring regions of Amhara and Afar. There are an estimated 1.2 million IDPs, who are faced with food insecurity, COVID-19 and possible flooding.

Response

Lutheran Disaster Response is contributing to an ACT Alliance appeal that is addressing the humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia. Implementing partners Lutheran World Federation and Ethiopia Evangelical Mekane Yesus Church are assisting IDPs in Amhara and Afar. IDPs will receive cash assistance to purchase essential nonfood and relief items. They will also be supplied with masks and hand soap to prevent the spread of COVID-19. This is the second contribution to the ACT Alliance appeal by Lutheran Disaster Response this year.

Be a part of the response:

Pray
Please pray for people who have been affected by the humanitarian crisis in Ethiopia. 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 (Where needed most) will be used to assist survivors whenever and wherever disaster strikes.

Connect
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.