The UN has declared famine in five regions of southern Somalia and warns that unless there is a massive increase in the humanitarian response, famine will spread rapidly to more areas in the south. For a list of InterAction members responding to the crisis, or to donate to one of those members, visit our drought crisis response page.
The UN has certain requirements to declare a famine:
• More than 30 percent of children must be suffering from acute malnutrition;
• Two adults or four children must be dying of hunger each day for every group of 10,000 people; and
• The population must have access to far below 2,100 kilocalories of food per day.
Complicating the situation, aid workers are in heightened danger due to the conflict in the country. The UN and U.S. have urged the armed groups to guarantee the safety of aid agencies and their staffs. The conflict has exacerbated the effect of consecutive droughts in the region, pushing people further into hunger and malnutrition.
On Oct. 4, 2011, InterAction President & CEO Samuel Worthington and Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of African Affairs Johnnie Carson answered questions about the Horn of Africa crisis on the State Department's Conversations With America series.
Horn of Africa Map
The following map provides information on Food Security and Agriculture projects undertaken by InterAction members.The information on the map will be updated periodically to reflect new projects by InterAction members responding to the crisis and information on the affected areas.
To highlight the work of InterAction members working in the Horn of Africa, InterAction has launched Horn of Africa Aid Map with funding from FedEx. The site features the work of InterAction members in the Horn of Africa and includes both long-term development projects and humanitarian response to the current famine. With over 12 million people currently in need of humanitarian assistance in the region, InterAction members have responded with emergency access to food, medical assistance, clean water and sanitation. While it is important to highlight the crisis response, it is equally vital to emphasize long-term development that builds resiliency to future crises.
This site is a part of NGO Aid Map which also features Haiti Aid Map and Food Security Aid Map. If your organization would like to participate, please email mappinginfo@interaction.org
