drought in the horn of africa

8/3/2019 Drought in the Horn of Africa

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www.ifrc.org

Saving lives, changing minds.

Drought in the Horn o AricaPreventing the next disaster


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The International Federation o Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) is the worlds largest volunteer-based humanitarian

network, reaching 150 million people each year through our 186 member National Societies. Together, we act beore, during and

ater disasters and health emergencies to meet the needs and improve the lives o vulnerable people. We do so with impartiality asto nationality, race, gender, religious belies, class and political opinions.

Guided by Strategy 2020 our collective plan o action to tackle the major humanitarian and development challenges o this decade we are committed to saving lives and changing minds.

Our strength lies in our volunteer network, our community-based expertise and our independence and neutrality. We work toimprove humanitarian standards, as partners in development and in response to disasters. We persuade decision makers to act at

all times in the interests o vulnerable people. The result: we enable healthy and sae communities, reduce vulnerabilities, strengthen

resilience and oster a culture o peace around the world.

International Federation o Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, Geneva, 2011.

Copies o all or part o this study may be made or noncommercial use, providing the source is acknowledged. The IFRC would appreciate receiving

details o its use. Requests or commercial reproduction should be directed to the IFRC at [email protected].

The opinions and recommendations expressed in this study do not necessarily represent the ofcial policy o the IFRC or o individual National Red Cross or

Red Crescent Societies. The designations and maps used do not imply the expression o any opinion on the part o the International Federation or National

Societies concerning the legal status o a territory or o its authorities. All photos used in this study are copyright o the IFRC unless otherwise indicated.

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International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

Drought in the Horn of Africa Preventing the next disaster

Averting uture ood crises

The Horn o Aricas most serious drought in decades has brought severe, andall too amiliar, humanitarian consequences. Much o the suering could havebeen avoided and in a region plagued by recurrent drought, the greatest chal-lenge today is preventing the next disaster.

This report looks at the roots o the catastrophe why a natural occurrencehas devastated the lives o millions and proposes ways to avert uture criseswhen drought returns to the Horn, as it will with regularity. The answer, itsays, lies not in emergency aid but in support or ood security. Relie aloneonly deepens the danger.

Red Cross and Red Crescent societies have been responding to drought ordecades, and their networks o volunteers and immediate action have saved

the lives o thousands o people. But, the IFRC argues, the way we invest mustchange: we must build community resilience and empower the people o aridlands to rise above the natural hazards that so requently conront them. It istime or governments, donors and humanitarians to take an integrated, longerterm approach and address the chronic underlying issues.

Examples rom Kenya show how this approach can work. They have turnedaround the lives o pastoralists who cannot sustain old livelihoods, introducedsustainable arming, and removed a dependence on ood aid. Although mod-

est compared to the present scale o disaster, they show the way ahead andthis work must expand with urgency i the harrowing images the world sees

today are not to be repeated.

Bekele GeletaSecretaryGeneral, IFRC

Abbas GulletSecretary General,Kenya Red Cross

Executive summary

Its time to change the

way we invest.


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Executive summary

4

Jacob

Dall/Da

nish

Red

CrossNomadic people living in north-eastern

Kenya have lost almost all their goats,

cattle and camels as a result o the drought.

Key messagesGovernments,donorsandhumanitarianorganisationsmustworktogetheronalongtermapproach,addressingthechronicunderlyingissues.Together,weneedtofocus

onpreventingfuturecrisesthroughintelligentinvestmentinsustainablechange.Wemustbuildtheresilienceofcommunities,empowerpeopletoidentifytheirdevelopmentprioritiesanddiversifylivelihoodoptions.Smallholderfarmingprovidesonesolutionforstrugglingpastoralistcommunitiesandshouldbeexpanded.

Donorsalreadymotivatedtoprovideincreasedfundingduringtimesofheightenedemergencymustalsobeencouragedtolookatinvestingtopreventthenextdisaster,aswellasmeetingemergencyneeds.Humanitarianaidanddevelopmentmustworkhandinhand.Examplesinthisreportshowhowtheirinvestmentwilllessentheneedtofundexpensiveandunsustainableemergencyresponsesinyearstocome.

Communitiesshouldbeprotectedfromrisingfoodpricesthatmagnifytheimpactofdrought.Assetoutinthe2011WorldDisastersReport,newregulationsmust

curbtheabilityofspeculatorstoexertexcessivemarketpoweroverfood.Disasterriskreductionincommunitieshastobecomeapriority.Governmentsshouldincreasetheirinvestmentincommunityinfrastructureandsocialserviceswithafocusoneducationtoensurethenextgenerationcanlivehealthy,productivelives.

Horn o Arica drought key acts and fguresDroughtintheHornofAfricahasaffectedover13millionpeople,including3.75millionKenyans.TheWorldFoodProgrammeiscurrentlyabletoassistonly7.4millionpeople(77percentofthoseitwouldliketohelp).

ApproximatelyoneinthreeSomalishasbeendisplacedduetothedrought.Almost3.7millionpeopleinSomalia(closetohalfthepopulation)arefacingahumanitariancrisis.1in3childreninsouthernSomaliaismalnourished.Over$1bn(US)hasbeencommittedtorespondtotheemergencybutafurther$1bnisstillneededtosavethousandsoflives.IntheDolloAdorefugeecampsinEthiopia,50percentofchildrenunderveyearsoldareacutelymalnourished.AccordingtotheUN,unlessoperationsareincreased,750,000peopleareatriskofdeathinthenextfourmonths.ThefoodaidcomingtoSomaliacanonlymeetabout10percentofthecountrysneeds.Over30percentofpeoplearemalnourishedindroughtaffectedareas.


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The land is barren except or withered scrub. The soil is dust or hard as rock.

Animals lie dead or dying. Despondent people look on, araid with good causethat beore too long many will join their livestock. Drought is strangling theHorn o Arica.

I years o recurrent drought have sucked the land bone dry, they have drained

human hope in the process.

Such scenes are common across the Horn today but so they were in 2008 and

2009, in 2005 and 2006, in 2000 and 2001, and in the droughts o the 1990s.The story does not change in essence. Only the detail does, and the degree o

deprivation as resolve and resources are exhausted.

What is happening now in the Horn where the worlds worst ood securitycrisis deepens is a regular occurrence, and will emerge again in a couple o

years, consuming lie and livelihood, sapping what is let o peoples beliein themselves. Over the past two decades in particular the pattern has been

unrelenting.

The humanitarian impactsToday, 13.5 million people across Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti are

suering, and amid amine in Somalia around 3.2 million are eared to be on

the brink o starvation.

Facing the greatest calamity due to drought combined with conict, insecu-rity and state ailure, Somalis have streamed into neighbouring countries some 215,000 since the beginning o 2011, the United Nations says andnorth-eastern Kenyas Dadaab camps now house the greatest concentrationo reugees in the world.

It is almost beyond comprehension that the reugees, and their appalling plighton which the eyes o the world are ocussed, are just one part o a wider, much

deeper, insidious and enduring crisis. As Dadaab struggled with an Augustcount o 440,000 people, Kenya as a whole contained 3.7 million people inserious need o ood and other assistance. O those, around 1.4 million aced

an emergency, no longer able to provide their basic needs, while another two

million pastoralists and armers were in crisis.

Not ar rom Dadaab, in a village where the wells had run dry, a despondent

pastoralist said: Once I had 500 cattle. Now what do I have? A amily o 20 andnothing to eed them but the handouts we get every ew months. As the landdried up, arming amilies were migrating in search o water and sustenance,and the outlook oered no respite. The dry season had started two monthsearly and would only intensiy. Food prices remained unremittingly high, con-ict occurred where pastoralists competed or remaining water and depleted

pasture, and disease was rampant among both livestock and humans. With

Introduction

In two or three years there will

be another drought. Again three

or our million Kenyans could

suer. Again we will mobilize

to save lives. But Kenya can,

and should, be eeding itsel.The disaster zone you see

today could be a Kenyan bread

basket. Enough o ood aid.

What we want is ood security.

Abbas Gullet, Secretary General,

Kenya Red Cross Society


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sources dwindling, rural amilies were increasingly drinking untreated waterrom rivers, streams, polluted ponds and wells, risking waterborne diseasesuch as typhoid and cholera.

The cycle o relie

O course, across the Horn, relie has been orthcoming through emergencyood, water and health interventions, such as those o the Kenya and EthiopianRed Cross and the Somali and Djibouti Red Crescent. In the village near Dadaab,the Kenya Red Cross Society has been trucking in thousands o litres o water,as it has to hundreds o others in the region. Food distributions, school eedingprogrammes, community health support, and the rehabilitation o emergencyboreholes all help to ease the suering.

But relie, the Red Cross Red Crescent insists, is not the answer. The drought

will return, again and again, and need will ar outweigh the response capacity.Funding or humanitarian aid already ails to keep pace with what is required

or ever-increasing disaster. On their own, indeed, short-term interventions arethemselves part o the problem. When they close down, when distributions

cease and camps are disbanded, people go back to the precarious place theycame rom: in harms way, waiting or the next disaster. As seen elsewhere inArica, the Horn undergoes an endless cycle o crisis-relie-crisis.

Over the past two decades great eorts have been made to respond to emer-

gency needs. But little has been done to break the cycle. The solution must to

be long-term commitment to making vulnerable communities resilient, build-

ing capacity within them. Drought in itsel is not a disaster, merely a natural

hazard. Catastrophe only occurs when it overwhelms human settlement thatis unprepared and vulnerable to it.

Nowhere is that more evident than in Kenya. 2011 is said to be the easternHorns driest year on record, the drought it has brought the worst in 60 years.

Why is it then that within the hardest hit regions there are oases o hope,


Introduction

6

IFRC/Faye

Callaghan

On their own, short-term

interventions are themselves

part o the problem.


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where crops are growing, where people are eeding themselves, are oodsecure, and where surplus harvest is sold to pay or l ies other essentials?

The population o neighbouring districts may live with the ear o amine,

but thousands o others are turning the t ide, helped by the Kenya Red CrossSociety. Diversiying livelihoods, they are adapting themselves to survive andourish. Formerly destitute pastoralists, dependent on ood aid in previousdroughts, are among the success stories. For while elsewhere the bush may begrey and dead here banana trees grow, papaya, tomatoes and kale too. Farmersharvest rice in places and animals graze on the stalks they leave behind.

The Red Cross empowers them to irrigate, supplies tools, seeds and otheragricultural inputs. It trains them in modern arming techniques, in vital non-rained practices, in disaster risk reduction, and provides medical outreachprogrammes and health education essential to community advancement.

Modest perhaps, compared to the scale o the surrounding disaster, but these

interventions show the way ahead and underline the value o long-terminvestment in sustainable solutions, alongside emergency relie. Backing upthe humanitarian argument, there is also an economic one: a startling cost-

beneft ratio, a massive return on the amount o money invested.

This report argues that humanitarian investment must go beyond alleviatingshort term suering and stress, and can and should concentrate on enabling

people living in arid lands to build viable and ood secure utures.



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Drought is endemic to the Horn and no one has known it otherwise. The uc-

tuations o rainall have been noted or as long as records have been kept, andpastoralist communities have lived and thrived through peaks and troughso precipitation or centuries. So to understand why intense dry seasons turninto crises today, we need to look beyond the shortage o rain. It is wrong toblame it all on climate change. Ways o lie must adapt to new challenges.

It is the Somali communities who are worst aected when the Horn is enguledby drought, inhabitants o the driest regions that stretch across modern bor-

ders, those o Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia and Djibouti.

For hundreds o years, these people were masters o survival, developingmethods to cope with drought, reducing livestock to numbers that were sus-

tainable, migrating across the arid lands to where experience told them waterand pasture could be ound, keeping emergency wells, preserving all-backareas or grazing, and turning to alternative sources o income such as themaking o charcoal.

Although more and more pastoralists have abandoned a nomadic lie, those

who remain continue to practise the strategies that ormerly did rather well.When drought bites in north-eastern Kenya, they herd their animals intoEthiopia and Somalia in the hope o fnding coastal rains that may haverestored some pasture.

A changed landscape

But the Horn has changed, socially, economically, environmentally. Politics,

international borders, war and changed demographics disrupt traditional

methods, leaving livelihoods based upon them with little chance o success.

The realities o the modern day overwhelm most pastoral communities as theysearch or sae paths through the periods o recurring drought. Most struggleto survive on their animals in the best o times, let alone maintain herds thatare large enough to sustain them in troubled ones.

Borders divide the Somali lands restricting the migration that once ensuredsurvival. On traditional routes, national park ences and arm enclosures limitaccess to grazing and water points, and pursuing what there is can lead toviolence. Regional conict has let the arid lands awash with weapons, andneighbouring tribes are well armed. Minor pastoralist quarrels quickly turninto serious clashes.

All this undermines the pastoralists viability and an even greater changeexacerbates every challenge: the explosive growth o the population. Thereare fve times more people in the drought-stricken pastoral areas than there

were 60 years ago, fve times as many amilies trying to raise fve times as

many animals. The arid lands natural resource base is aected by more than

Roots of the disaster



To understand why intense

dry seasons turn into crises

today, we need to look beyond

the shortage o rain. It is wrong

to blame it all on climate

change. Ways o lie must

adapt to new challenges.


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Saving lives will always be the frst priority o humanitarian action, meeting

immediate needs in a crisis. Be that as it may, saeguarding peoples capac-ity to turn their lives around by reviving their own economies, must be anunderlying ocus.

And i we are to do that we must listen to peoples aspirations. Huge shits areoccurring in the Horn, rom pastoralism to arming, rom arming to urbandwelling, a transition rom the old ways, an attempt to escape rom depen-dence on rain. Some succeed, some ail, some are caught in the middle. It isa rough transition and the need or assistance not only or the ailed butalso or those whose progress points to a uture or arid lands is paramount.Cushioning change, rewarding adaptation, providing those who move with

sot landings, will, i managed well, reduce the current vulnerability and help

pave the way to long-term answers.

O course, nothing does more to prevent cycles o drought rom turning into

crises than committed and responsible government. Humanitarian interven-

tion must never undermine or supersede this. Our role is to assist, to comple-ment. Emergency relie must not be allowed to shield governments rom

healthy accountability.


Roots of the disaster

10

Emergency relie must not be

allowed to shield governments

rom healthy accountability.

Jonathan

Kalan/IFRC

A child in North East Kenya waits or a water tank to be lled. The rains have ailed twice and now nothing grows in this village.


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The late-August outlook rom the Famine Early Warning Systems Networkoered Kenya little respite. A ood security map showed it mostly in crisis

and emergency on the scale o severity.

A great band o emergency blanketed much o the countrys northeast,and looked set to swallow the last ew pockets o mere crisis in the hard-

hit districts o Mandera, pushing them into emergency. The short rains lastNovember had ailed, the long rains o March to May had been wretched, the

water pans were dry and the pastoralists had migrated with their animals,deep into neighbouring Ethiopia.

People were suering badly and surviving on ood aid. But not our groupso armers in otherwise troubled Rhamu division. As August came to an end

they began to harvest bountiul crops o vegetables.

Much the same story could be ound in Isiolo District. While neighbouring areaswere acing amine, armers in Burat were cropping tomatoes, maize and onions.

Nor were there onlypockets o hope. In Tana River District, which acquires itsname rom Kenyas longest waterway, 3,300 acres o armland was ourishing,growing banana, mango, capsicum, cowpeas, mung beans, water melon, toma-toes and pawpaw, maintaining livestock, providing ood or thousands o people.

Change, adaptation and innovationThese are just some o a rat o Kenya Red Cross Society eorts to empowercommunities to become ood secure, to end or themselves, to rise above the

How to prevent future crises

While neighbouring areas

were acing amine, armers

in Burat were cropping

tomatoes, maize, and onion.

Women sell their produce at a market

in Garissa, Kenya. They now have

enough to eed their amilies and to

earn an income.


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hazards and manage the opportunities. They are about change, adaptationand innovation, and what they seek is saety and dignity.

Here was determined investment in solutions to prevent uture crises. Said

Secretary General Abbas Gullet: These are long-term ood security optionsthat aim to build sel-sustainability and to avoid over-reliance on ood aid.Look, when our people go hungry we are ar too late. Hunger in Kenya is non-

sense and the key to these issues is early action.

The Tana River Drought Recovery Project has turned lie around or oncedestitute armers in one o Kenyas poorest areas. For more than ten years,recurring drought, and destructive ood, had exacerbated poverty. Some 77per cent o Tana North Districts population originally mostly pastoralist was living below the poverty line, and more than hal o those were unable tomeet even basic ood needs. Relie and other handouts were all that sustainedthem, while their plight was reected in their state o health, particularly in

that o mothers and children. Acute malnutrition among the under fves was

peaking in times o drought, and contributed to inant mortality 60 per centhigher than the national average.

A return on investment

Ater a 1997 drought wiped out much o their livestock, and let them unable

to support their amilies, some pastoralists turned to arming. More dry yearsollowed and they struggled; in the wake o persistent drought rom 2007 to2009 the Red Cross stepped in to help. With US$700,000 rom the Japanesegovernment they set about assisting recovery rom the torrid past couple oyears and promoting livelihoods through improved and diversifed productionand seasonal income options.

Farmers in three communities were helped to expand the cropped land, and

1,200 acres were ploughed and harrowed or them. Tonnes o seeds and thou-sands o seedlings were distributed, and irrigation pumps supplied to better

utilize water rom the nearby Tana. The river is a permanent one which does

run lower during drought but continues to ow. It is the main source o water

and with the arms, on average, 500 metres rom it, its use or irrigation notonly allows ar greater production, but massively reduces reliance on rain.

As or animals lost to the drought, the Red Cross restocked the householdsmost aected with modest but viable herds o goats and sheep in collaboration



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When our people go hungry

we are ar too late. Hunger in

Kenya is non-sense and the key

to these issues is early action.

Abbas Gullet, Secretary General,


Faye

Callaghan/IFRCFormer pastoralists have learnt how to

pump water rom the Tana River and

now grow a variety o crops that not

only eed their amilies but provides a

regular income.


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with the Ministry o Livestock. Close to 60 per cent o amilies within theproject now have animals and 26 per cent sell animal products, goats milkthe biggest seller. So or the communities, sustainable livestock means both

nutrition and income.

The proo o the pudding, though, is in the eating. Elsewhere in Tana Riverdistrict people still depend on ood aid but not in the communities in Madogo,Bura and Bangale divisions where the Red Cross is working. The armers,indeed, have inormed the government relie ood is no longer needed.

Farmer Aden Shekh put it this way: As a armer I can send my children toschool, and we do not go hungry during drought such as we have today. Now,

there is lie. There is also sel-belie. There is dignity. The mans neighboursaid: I cant be a pastoralist anymore because o how I suered. I just want toexpand my arm and add canals and more machines in order to help the com-munity. Things have improved or me, things have settled down. I am happy.

Success has ed his ambition but his perspective has changed as well, withknowledge o modern techniques, opportunity and agricultural best practice.Practical training in feld schools has provided new insight into preparing theland and planting dierent crops. The ormer pastoralists have learnt aboutpests and disease, and the measures they should take to control them. They

have learnt how to conserve the soil and the environment, while animal healthworkers have been schooled in inspection and vaccination procedures.

Targeting public health

As much as the armers need access to water or the felds, the communities

need access to clean water or their health. Poor health indicators linkedto the poverty level are a contributory actor to drought becoming disaster.

Avoiding illness during drought can best be achieved by being healthy beore-

hand. Breaking the cycle that leads especially to poor maternal and childhealth, is intrinsic to breaking the cycle o poverty and drought.

Already the Kenya Red Cross Society has ocussed on public health. Shallow

wells have been dug or rehabilitated and access to clean water improved or30,000 people. Average trekking distances to the nearest supply have beenbrought down rom 3.5 km to less than 1 km, and a new water pan will alsocontribute. When good rains do come and the pan is flled, 1,500 more house-holds will be brought closer. Today some travel 5 km. Better sanitation andhygiene promotion has been in the programme as well.

Much more is to come. Seeing the outcome o one years intervention, and thereturn on its investment, the Japanese government is extending its support or

a second year. With that has come a US$400,000 maternal child health project.

Let the fnal word here rest with a politician. Aden Duale, member o parlia-

ment or one o the areas the Red Cross has assisted across the river in GarissaDistrict, told The Standard daily newspaper, People always think o the aridnorth as a land o banditry, drought and conict. I we continue empowering

the people I see the whole Tana ecosystem eeding hal o this country.

All that was needed, he said, was more Kenyan government unding to irrigatethe ertile lands lying along the mighty Tana.



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How ood security

pays o

AvoidinghungerintheHornofAfricaisfarcheaperthanrespondingtoit.Whileapricecanneverbeplacedonlife,foodsecuritycostsafractionoffoodreliefandprovideslong-termsolutionstotheregionsrecurringcrises.

TheconclusionisdrawnbytheIFRC

fromacomparisonmadeinKenyaduringthepresentdrought.Foratenthofthecostofsixmonthsoffoodaid,anirrigatedagricultureprojectgavealmost10,000peopleasustainablesourceoffoodandincome.

Moreover,theKenyaRedCrossSocietyinterventionmorethanpaidforitselfinitsrstyear;itsrevenuecalculatedtobeovertentimestheinvestment.

Withabudgetof30millionKenyanshillings(about235,000USdollars),theprojectcreated33farmssupporting9,900peoplealongtheTanaRiver.Eachofthe1,650farmersinvolvedearnedareturnworth20,000shillings(about156dollars)amonth.

Usingestimatedcosts,thesamebudgetcouldhavegiven1,250peopleapartialfoodrationforsixmonths,afterwhichtheywouldhavereturnedtowheretheyhadstarted:

stillinharmsway.Thecomparison,theIFRCstresses,isindicativeonlyassomecalculationsarebasedonapproximationsbuttheconclusionisunequivocal.Foodsecurityanddisasterriskreductionarebotheffectiveandcostefcient.Thewisestinvestmentsarethoseinsustainablelong-termsolutions.


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Speaking up in Tana River

ThesoundofatruckcausesheadstoturninapoornomadiccampofafewroundhutsinadisregardedcornerofTanaRiver.

Bouncingdownthetrackinacloudofdustcomesapick-up.Thecloudengulfsthecamp,pastoralistscovertheirfacesbutthroughthemurkfollowthetruckintently.Aquestionisbeingpondered.Ourwayoflifemaybeendingbutcouldanotherbeopeningup?

Thecampdwellersbelongtothe77percentofTanaNorthDistrictspopulationwholivebelowthepovertylineand,likemorethanhalfofthose,cannotprovidetheirbasicneeds.Theyhaveachronicrelianceonfoodaid.

ThetruckbelongstoagroupofourishingfarmersmostofthemformerpastoralistswhohavefoundnewhopewithaKenyaRedCrossSocietysustainablelivelihoodsproject.Despitethedeepeningdroughtinwhichthepoorgetonlypoorer,itisonitswaytomarketpiledhighwithplumpbananas.

Thedriverexplains:Wehave60bunchestoselltoday,andtheyweighabout800kilograms.Wellgetupto12shillingsakiloforthem.HeisexpectingtheequivalentofUS$75,andismakingthetriptwiceaweek.ForTanaNorthheisdoinggoodbusiness,andthebananashewillsellareonlythosesurplustothefarmersownneeds.

UphereinModogo,oneofthreedivisionswheretheTanaRiverDroughtRecoveryProjectissupportingfarmers,thecrisisso

evidentelsewhereisheldatbaybytheintervention.Notallhasgoneexactlytoplanandtherearechallenges,theysay,inclearingmoreland.Butsuccesscanbeseeninproductivelandandinthesmilesetchedontheirfaces.

Mohammeds story

AmongtreesonthewesternbankoftheTana,MohammedAdan,47,watchesaswaterpumpedfromtheriverpoursintochannelsthatleadtotheelds.Henods,satised.Hehasknownbadtimesbutiscondenttheyarenowbehindhim.Asapastoralisthesawallhislivestockdieinthedroughtof1997,andwasobligedtoturnhishandtootherthings.Asacharcoalmaker,hefailedtomeettheneedsofhisfamily.Asasubsistencefarmer,hestruggledtofeedthemfromalow-yieldquarterofanacre.

Ihaveafullacretoday.Igrowgoodcrops,hesays.Ifeedmyfamilywellandsellthesurplus.Mychildrengotoschoolbecausewecanaffordthefees,weliveinatin-roofedhouse,andwehaveasupplyofcleanwater.Whatmoredoeshewant?Doeshehavedreams?Mm,tobeabetterfarmer,withtwo,three,fouracresofland.Iwantmychildrentobesureofagoodeducation.

Kunyas storyHehasnewaspirationslikemostofhisfellowfarmers,lookingawayfromrelianceonrain.KunyaGuyo,94,isanelderoftheMunyoyayatribe,amarginalizedgroupwhoaccountformanyoftheRedCrossfarmers,andeducationconcernshimaswell.Ittopshislistofpriorities,forTanaNorthhassky-highilliteracyrates.Foodsecuritymeansmorethanfullbellies,hesays.Itgivespeopleoptions,andthechancetoprogress.

ItiswhyhewantsthealreadyexpandingprojectreplicatedalongtheTana.Ourpeopleliverightalongitandoutsidetheprojectsomanyfarmersarestruggling.Seeingthesuccessofpeoplewithinit,theyareeagertofollowsuit,hesays.

Hadijas story

OneofthemisHadijaKiona,45,amotherofsix.Withherhusbandnowill,shesthefamilysbreadwinneranddreamsofreturningtofarming.Wewerefarmersbeforebutthenwehaddrought...Intheendwehadnothingleft.Importantlyforher,theTanaRiverprojectalsoembraceshealthcare.Aswellasalarmingmalnutrition,thedistricthasKenyas

worstinfantmortalityrate.Hadijaherselfhaslostthreechildren,oneofthemduringchildbirth,andsohavemanyofherfriends.

TheRedCrossisinterveningwithamaternalchildhealthprogramme,providingthedistrictdispensarywithamaternitywing,improvingpreventativehealth,strengtheningante-natalcareandchildimmunisation,andsupportingoutreachservices.

Sometimespeoplediebecausetheycantgetproperassistance,sheexplains.Oritstoofarawayandbythetimeyougetthereitstoolate.Thedistrictpossessesnoambulance.

Asafarmer,shesays,herpriorityisfeedingherfamily.Asamotheritismedicalcare.


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Amid the drought, a ear o foodThe Tana isnt the only river the Kenya Red Cross Society has used to turnaround the ortunes o pastoralists who have shited to agriculture. Up in theextreme northeast, close to the borders o both Ethiopia and Somalia, the Dauariver ows out o the Ethiopian highlands across the tip o Kenya.

The Red Cross stepped in here because o ood not drought, but among theKenyan crises ood and drought are inextricably linked. Food security isassaulted on all sides and while a drought can be the worst a armer remem-

bers he can still be araid o a coming ood.

As Hassan Yunis, 71, a armer in northeastern Kenyas Balambala divisiondescribed his ears in the 2009 crisis, Rain? We either have too little or wehave ar too much. Any goats he had that survived the drought would, hesaid, die in the ood that would ollow.

A ooding Daua did more than that to armers on its banks in Rhamu division.The river, that runs or eight to ten months o the year, simply destroyed the

armland, washing away both soil and crops, and depositing silt, with suchrequency that many people just gave up. The untended felds were soonchoking with weeds, reverting to bush, and mosquitoes acquired a breeding

ground. Malaria became endemic. With livelihoods gone and health precari-

ous, some armers returned to the pastoral lie where intensiying drought

assailed them. They were caught between the river and a harder place.

Without ood protection, rivers that could help amilies grow crops insteadruin the land and destroy livelihoods

Flood protection

With support rom the Norwegian Red Cross, Kenya Red Cross Society movedin to help 200 armers in our locations. Flood protection went up - rock-flled

metal mesh gabions covered with earth - deending the land at critical pointswhere the river was most likely to burst its banks. The land was cleared againand pumps ed the irrigation system.

There is still much work to be done, and more unding is needed to extendood protection and upgrade irrigation with canals that bring water to felds

ar away rom the river. In the meantime the armers are pressing ahead



15

In previous years, a serious drought has

lead to fooding, destroying both the

homes and livelihoods o many people.


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improving the old irrigation system, digging ponds as reservoirs and pump-

ing the water urther.

The current crisis underlines the achievement. By protecting the armers rom

food, the intervention has removed them rom deepening drought. Away romthe river the land is dead. Nothing grows. Little moves and most o what doescan no longer be considered an asset.

Action yields results

A green belt runs along the river, though, where the armers l it crops ontocommunal rats and pole them to town to sell at the market. At the height o

the drought they were harvesting, and harvesting more than they had everenvisaged: onions, tomatoes, watermelon as well as maize, and odder ortheir sheep and goats. Sel-sufcient in ood, they are sel-sufcient in seedas well. This year they needed none.

As in Tana River, the inputs have come with training, education and guidance

and where yields had averaged 120 bags o maize per hectare, they are now at 480.

Farmer Haji Omar does better than that. Last season he managed 500 bags o

50 kilograms each.

He was one o those orced by the oods to abandon his arm which makes himdoubly proud and determined. Today 165 metres o ood protection line hisland, high-powered pumps bring him water, and armers elsewhere are envious.

How does that work? they ask him.

Haji Omar tells them and passes on his knowledge. His colleagues do thesame, and sometimes equipment is borrowed. People are helping one another.

The project cannot cover every armer, or secure the whole river bank, andmany felds remain unproductive. But there is momentum along the Daua,the harvests drawing armers back to the land that not so long ago they were

driven rom.



16

Ken

Oloo/IFRCPeople who previously relied on ood

handouts, now can grow their own

nutritious crops.

The inputs have come

with training, education and

guidance and where yields had

averaged 120 bags o maize per

hectare, they are now at 480.


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Underground promiseRivers bring lie but ar rom their banks in the arid lands there are otherprospects. Says Kenya Red Cross Societys Abbas Gullet, In northern Kenya,

even in Turkana, water is only 50 metres below the earth.

Running beneath North Eastern Provinces Lagdera District, indeed, is theHorns largest aquier, created by the Ewaso Nyiro river. As part o eorts toimprove the lot o 20,000 drought-stricken ormer pastoralists and amongother things introduce small-scale irrigation arming the Kenya Red CrossSociety will tap the aquier with two solar-powered boreholes each producing40,000 litres per hour or ten hours a day.

The ocal point is Dertu, a settlement o 6,500 people which sprang rom ood

aid dependency. It grew rom a ood distribution point, and speaks volumesor the aid systems ailure to bridge a catastrophic gap between humanitarianand development assistance. It illustrates why the IFRC has long called or a

review o humanitarian action and a remodelling o its unding.

We do not argue that unding to procure and distribute ood should be redi-rected. Food aid saves lives. Without it many more people would suer anddie, but many could have been spared their present situation, the deprivationsand dangers o places like Dertu.

You wouldnt look to lure destitute people to somewhere deep inside an aridarea where rainall can be scarce or the best part o ten years as it was rom

1997. Or to somewhere that suers erratic rains, with subsequent oods, out-

breaks o pests and diseases, and isolation rom markets. But that was the con-sequence o ood aid. It persuaded pastoralist drop-outs who had lost their live-stock in successive droughts to settle down where distributions were regular.

They did try their hands at arming by harvesting rain or irrigation but, withdroughts more pronounced and more requent, crops became limited at best.The sinking o a borehole only brought more people, migrating pastoralists, theincreased number o animals and resulted in overgrazing. Today, some 64 percent o the population live in absolute poverty, there is pervasive malnutrition,a high level o maternal and child mortality, extremely low levels o literacy,

and poor inrastructure. Dertu is a grossly under-served area.

Nevertheless, the Kenya Red Cross Society unded by its Finnish andNorwegian sister societies is confdent there is opportunity. Ayaz Manji, heado its water and sanitation department, explains, Using the aquiers water, weplan to open up an initial 50 acres o arming with drip irrigation. Much more

can be done with dry land irrigation in Kenya, and the aquier under Lagdera iscertainly under-utilized. Well start with one hundred arming amilies, about650 people, but once ood begins to be produced more people will certainlycome on board and well be able to scale up substantially.

A growth model

The arms are expected to serve as models o irrigated agriculture, the ood

they grow producing a ripple eect, creating jobs and business opportuni-

ties as well as eeding ar more than the targeted amilies through the saleo surplus on markets. Dadaabs market, with its reugee populations 50 to 60kilometres away, will be among them.



17

In Dertu, some 64 per cent o

the population live in absolute

poverty, there is pervasive

malnutrition, a high level o

maternal and child mortality,

extremely low levels o literacy,

and poor inrastructure.


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The project will construct a 50,000-cubic metre lined water pan along with theboreholes, install drip irrigation systems serving both armland and greenhouses,establish seedling nurseries, and support the provision o quality agro inputsincluding seeds, ertilizers, agrochemicals, arm tools, and extension services.

The greenhouses will be used or horticulture while the felds will produceboth odder and drought-resistant crops. Water systems will allow or ade-quate storage even in t imes o drought, and along with the increased odder

sustain milk as well as ood production. Livestock services wil l strengthenpastoralism.

Much has to be done on public health also. Only ten per cent o the populationmakes use o latrines today, and knowledge o hygiene will be increased alongwith access to basic sanitation. Again, sufcient clean water or domesticuse is needed and some 20 litres per person per day will ow rom protected

sources. Dertu is about sustainable community development which means itmust also own it, and training will enhance such capacity as community

management, conict resolution and problem solving.

Places such as Dertu are putting down markers. Lessons will be learned butwhat can work here can work elsewhere in the Horn o Arica where the vul-

nerable are marginalized and helped only to survive, rather than ourish.



18

Kenya

Red

Cross


19/24



19

Jonathan

Kalan/IFRC

Jonathan

Kalan/IFRC

Kenya Red Cross Societys Sahal Abdi proudly shows o the

ruit the Tana River community has grown to help them through

this drought.

Jonathan

Kalan/IFRC


20/24

20

What needs to happenon the road aheadWhat assails the Horn today is a chronic crisis rooted in past complexity and

major socio-economic developments. Lives and livelihoods have been under-mined paving the way or recurring drought to exacerbate poverty, ill health

and hunger. With outdated means o coping bound to ail, the Horn limps in

and out o disaster.

Some distress can be relieved through emergency action but that alone papersover the problems. Aid simply poured in time and time again ignores the realneeds and extends the suering. In the end it is irresponsible.

So what needs to occur on the road ahead i the Horn is to escape a permanentstate o disaster?

n The IFRC advocates a long-term approach, one that learns rom the lessonso past responses. While working to meet emergency needs o drought-

aected people, chronic underlying issues must be addressed, as the RedCross Red Crescent already does with a regional commitment.

n Governments, donors and humanitarian agencies must ocus on prevent-ing uture crises, on building resilience in threatened communities, onempowering people to identiy their development priorities, and diversiy-ing livelihood options. What is needed is intelligent investment in sustain-able change, in commitment to long-term solutions.

n Integrated strategy is needed. It is why the IFRC is supporting the HornsRed Cross and Red Crescent National Societies as they invest in adaptation,innovate in their approach to water and ood security, strengthen l iveli-hoods and tackle healthcare and social issues. Partners are urged to work

with us at a pace that can support these quality programmes.

n When a drought turns into a human catastrophe and media attention moti-vates increased unding rom individuals and institutions, humanitarianorganisations must capitalise on the opportunity to secure unds or longterm programmes. Only by investing well when there are resources avail-

able, can we really contribute to preventing the next disaster.

n More must be done to protect communities rom unpredictable and soaringood prices. The IFRC is extremely alarmed by prices in the Horn that areartifcial, and signifcantly higher than those being paid in the rest o theworld. Shortages and near-historic prices or staples such as corn, wheat,and sugar have magnifed the impact o the present drought. These issues

are explored in the World Disasters Report 2011.

n As elsewhere, disaster risk reduction in communities has to become a pri-ority. Without that, the world will ail to achieve the targets set by the UNs

Millennium Development Goals: to decrease poverty, hunger, disease and death.

Conclusions



Aid simply poured in time

and time again ignores the

real needs and extends

the suering. In the end

it is irresponsible.


21/24

The bottom line is this: drought will remain a common occurrence in the Horn.We know that in two or three years what is happening now will be repeated.

Will those who suered greatly this time around, suer as much again? Or will

national governments in the Horn, will humanitarian agencies, will the inter-national community, will alert and questioning media, have helped reducethe risks poor communities ace and restored both hope and dignity? Will wehave done what we can, as Abbas Gullet puts it, to rein in the regions pain?Or will responsibility be abrogated?

Providing relie on the present scale will be a reection o ailure.



21

Jonathan

Kalan/IFRC

The Kenya Red Cross Society is ocused on discussing long term solutions with communities, to nd a way to ensure the next

generation doesnt experience the same devastating eects o drought.


22/24

22

This report ocuses on examples o sustainable ood security programmes in

Kenya. The Red Cross Red Crescent Movement operates through its network

o National Societies across Arica, regularly responding to, and preparingor drought emergencies. Below are two more examples o successul oodsecurity interventions.

Other examples



30 years investment in Red Sea Hills o Sudan

TheSudaneseRedCrescentadoptedanintegrated,multi-sectoralapproachthatincludesfoodsecurity/livelihoods,health,waterandsanitation,education,andwomensdevelopmenttothesamecommunitiesoveranextendedperiodoftime.Thecostbenetanalysisdonein2009indicatedthattheprogrammehadconsiderableimpactonthetargetedpopulation.Activitiessuchastheterracesandearthdams/embankmentsenabledhouseholdstoundertakesuccessfulagriculturalactivities,providingfoodbothforconsumptionandthepossibilitytodiversifydietsasandtosellproduceandearnanincome.Thecostbenetanalysisindicatedthattheseprojectswereeconomicallyefcientwithacostbenetratioofgreaterthan1:25insomeinterventions.Waterprojectssuchastheinstallationofhand-pumpsandtheconstructionofharshavealsoimpactedpositivelyonpastoralcommunities.Thecentresforwomenareenablingwomentogainnewskillsandknowledgeincludingliteracy,healthandnutritionawareness,whichisbeingtranslatedintotheirhouseholdpracticesofimprovinghealthand

hygienefortheentirefamily.TheseinterventionshaveinuencedtheBejatraditionsandsocietalnormspositivelyandwillcontinuetodosointhefuture.

Building resilient communities in Ethiopia

Ethiopiaisoneofthepoorestcountriesintheworld.Eachyear,onaverage,morethan10millionpeopleoutofapopulationofalmost83millionhaveproblemsingettingenoughfoodforthemselvesandtheirfamiliesandthecurrentdroughtisdeepeningthecrisis.InTigray,thecountrysnorthern-moststate,theEthiopianRedCrossSociety,incooperationwiththeIFRCandtheSwedishRedCross,hassetupaprogrammethatfocusesinpartonimprovingalternativeagriculturalproduction.Technicaltrainingindairyfarming,cattle-fatteningandbee-keepingarekeyelements.Aftertraining,peoplecanjoinasavingandcreditschemeandareloanedmoneytopurchaselivestock,forexample.AminaHaji,adivorcedwomanwithvechildren,isbenettingfromtheproject.TheRedCrosstrainedhertomanagecattle-fattening,thefeedingandmarketingofanimals.Shehasalsobenetedfrombecomingamemberoftheprojectssavingandcreditcooperative.Shehasfoundthatcattle-fatteningisaprotableactivityandherannualincomehasalmostdoubled.Theresult:shesavesmoneyeachmonth,sendsallherschool-agechildrentoschoolandisabletofeedherfamilythreetimesaday.Beingabeneciaryoftheprojecthaschangedmylifecompletely,shesays.


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Humanity /The International Red Cross and Red Crescent

Movement, born o a desire to bring assistance without dis-

crimination to the wounded on the battlefeld, endeavours,

in its international and national capacity, to prevent and alle-

viate human suering wherever it may be ound. Its purposeis to protect lie and health and to ensure respect or the hu-

man being. It promotes mutual understanding, riendship,

cooperation and lasting peace amongst all peoples.

Impartiality / It makes no discrimination as to nation-

ality, race, religious belies, class or political opinions. It

endeavours to relieve the suering o individuals, being

guided solely by their needs, and to give priority to the

most urgent cases o distress.

Neutrality / In order to enjoy the confdence o all, the

Movement may not take sides in hostilities or engage at

any time in controversies o a political, racial, religious or

ideological nature.

Independence /The Movement is independent. The

National Societies, while auxiliaries in the humanitarian

services o their governments and subject to the laws

o their respective countries, must always maintain their

autonomy so that they may be able at all times to act inaccordance with the principles o the Movement.

Voluntary service /It is a voluntary relie movement not

prompted in any manner by desire or gain.

Unity /There can be only one Red Cross or Red Crescent

Society in any one country. It must be open to all. It must

carry on its humanitarian work throughout its territory.

Universality / The International Red Cross and Red

Crescent Movement, in which all societies have equal

status and share equal responsibilities and duties in help-

ing each other, is worldwide.

The Fundamental Principles of the International

Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement


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www.ifrc.org Saving lives, changing minds.

03800

E0

For more inormation please contact:

IFRC communications team, Arica

[email protected]

+27 11 303 9700


Elijah M li Disaste Management Depa tment
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]

drought in the horn of africa

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