|
|
Local population |
Refugees |
Total |
|
Djibouti |
146,600 |
17,600 |
164,200 |
|
Kenya |
2,400,000 |
514,545 |
2,914,545 |
|
Somalia |
3,700,000 |
0 |
3,700,000 |
|
Ethiopia |
4,567,256 |
228,014 |
4,795,270 |
|
Total |
10,813,856 |
760,159 |
11,574,01 |
Humanitarian situation
The famine had its origin in Shabeellaha Hoose and Bakool, two regions in southern Somalia. According to the UN humanitarian coordinator for Somalia, this will spread to the other eight provinces unless we take immediate action. The Economist reported that the famine could spread throughout the Horn of Africa, "a situation unprecedented in 25 years ...."
Prices of food have risen 240% in southern Somalia, 117% in southeastern Ethiopia, and 58% in northern Kenya. Furthermore, the rate of malnourished children has come 30% in parts of Kenya and Ethiopia, and about 50% in southern Somalia. At least 11.3 million people in the region are in need of food aid, with 3, 7 million of them in Somalia.
The Red Cross warned that a looming humanitarian crisis in northwestern Kenya's Turkana District, on the border with southern Sudan. According to the official aid agency, about three quarters of the population of the region are in dire need of food. And levels of malnutrition are on the top, but relief efforts currently focus only in the Dadaab camps.
Growing concern for a possible famine hidden in Eritrea, while international agencies speak of a "black hole" in the information coming from this region. Following this the government of Eritrea denies that is lack of food in this country.
Refugee Crisis
About 800 thousand people have fled the affected areas of southern Somali drought to neighboring countries, particularly Kenya and Ethiopia. The three refugee camps in Dadaab, home to at least 440 000 people, although its capacity is limited to 90 000. More than 1,400 refugees continue to arrive daily from the neighboring country. The spokesman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Melissa Fleming, said many people had died on the way. Within the camps, the infant mortality rate has tripled in recent months. The total mortality rate is 7.4 per 10 thousand a day, which is more than seven times higher than the rate of "emergency" 1 in 10 000 per day. There is an increase sexual violence against women and girls in refugee camps, putting them in addition to the abuse in a high risk of contracting HIV / AIDS.
Dolo Odo, Ethiopia is also home to at least 110,000 refugees from Somalia, most recently arrived. The three fields in Bokolomanyo, Melkadida and Kobe are exceeded the maximum of its capacity, a wider field is being built, while another is planned for the future. Malnutrition among children has reached 33%. Water shortage is affecting all refugee camps.
Health and Diseases
On the other hand, measles has broken out in the Dadaab camps, with 462 confirmed cases, including 11 deaths. Ethiopia and Kenya are facing severe epidemics of the disease, attributed in part to the refugee crisis, with about 17 thousand confirmed cases in 2011 and at least 114 deaths. Statistics from the WHO the number of children placed at risk of infection to 2 million. The epidemic in Ethiopia may have led to an outbreak of measles in the United States and elsewhere in the developed countries.
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared that "8.8 million people are at risk of contracting malaria, and 5 million Wraths "in Ethiopia, due to overcrowding and unsanitary conditions. No polio cases have been reported yet. The organization Doctors without Borders is trying to over 10,000 cases of malnutrition among children in feeding centers and clinics.
Security
The head of the United States Agency for International Development, Rajiv Shah said the drought could worsen the security situation in the region. This is happening in just a part of the world which the Secretary of Defense of the United States Leon Panetta said it is a region that is fighting against terrorism and international security and highlights the profound union between security food and national security. The search for distant lands to grazing with goats or cattle to enable mobility (pastoralism ) is done with weapons, because of competition from the few available resources due to drought. In Kenya they have killed more than 100 pastors.
There is fear of the insurgent group Al-Shabaab continues to hamper relief operations in southern Somalia. "We need better access than we have now to deal with an emergency like this" The UN agencies are "in dialogue" with the group Al-Shabaab on the safety of runways in areas under the control of the insurgent group seeking to make available assistance. The World Food Programme UN is considering returning to southern Somalia where he retired in 2010 because of threats from the rebel group Al-Shabaab. There are an estimated one million people in regions that are not accessible. In early July, Al-Shabaab announced that it had removed its restrictions on international aid workers and humanitarian relief would be allowed enter. However, on July 22, Al-Shabaab said the ban on certain organizations continues, and also denied that the famine is occurring in the southern region of Somalia.
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