Through the desert storm in the Horn of Africa

It was a difficult decision, but in the end Hawa Issak decided to leave her home.

The drought had destroyed her entire family’s livelihood, her husband had left her and she was pregnant. She did not see any future in Gedo region of Southern Somalia for her or her unborn baby, so she joined the 420 km trek (the distance from Auckland to Napier) together with 6 other families, hoping to find help in neighbouring Kenya.

They walked for 28 days in blistering heat and dust until finally they reached Dadaab, once a small village in Eastern Kenya that has become home to the biggest refugee camp in the world.

Heavy winds are hauling through the open fields of Dadaab. Children’s faces are covered with dust and everyone is having difficulties to breath and talk. Animal cadavers are lying between dry bushes: It’s not easy for anyone or anything to survive in such a blistering environment.

Serious over crowding

The three camps in Dadaab - Ifo, Hagadera and Dagahaley - were set up years ago to cater for the steady flow of refugees fleeing the fighting and insecurity in neighbouring Somalia which has been going on for over 20 years. Originally planned to house a maximum of 90,000 refugees, Dadaab now has over four times that amount of people with a population of 380,000, almost all of them in makeshift tents. That's like all the residents of Wellington city camping in one spot and between January and June, more than 60,000 new refugees have arrived.

Since the end of last month there has been another steep increase, making the situation largely unimaginable. “Looking around, we mainly see women and children,” says Elhadj As Sy. “They are again the ones that are hardest hit by this triple shock of drought - which is related to climate change - , soaring food prices and the armed conflict in Somalia. People went through so many hardships to get here. They are in very bad shape. It’s really humbling and sobering to be here.”

Food prices add to devastation

The refugees in Dadaab, however, are only part of a much larger problem. Due to two consecutive failed rainy seasons, price increases of up to 200 per cent for some staple foods, as well as the escalating fighting in Somalia, the Horn of Africa is facing one of the most severe food crises in the world today.

More than 10 million people are currently in need of humanitarian assistance in the three countries. Among them are more than 2 million children under the age of five who are suffering from malnutrition, including 500,000 who are severely malnourished, a life-threatening condition that needs urgent treatment. A child who is severely malnourished is 9 times more likely to die than a healthy child.

UNICEF provides aid

UNICEF is providing therapeutic food to those most at risk. The most severe cases receive Therapeutic Milk to stabilize their medical condition. After three or four days, the milk usually can be substituted by Plumpy Nut, a high-energy peanut paste which helps them recover over the following weeks. Some, however, reach the hospital too late. Last week, six young children died in the therapeutic feeding centre in the Ifo camp, which Elhadj As Sy visited on Sunday.

Hope for the future

“The most impressive thing for me is that the poorest mothers in the worst cases of deprivation still love their children and want the best for them. They want them to be well fed, well -educated and to grow up with a future.” said Elhadj As Sy. “To listen to all their stories, with smiles on their faces and hope for the future is a true source of inspiration for all of us.”

In the midst of dust and hardship, one of these stories of inspiration and courage is the story of Hawa Issak, the 21-year old woman from Gedo in Somalia. Shortly after her arrival in Dadaab she gave birth to a boy, her third child. “I gave him the name Ibrahim,” she says proudly with a smile on her face. “We are safe now …..for the time being.”

How you can help

Make an urgently needed donation to our African Food Crisis Fund.
Purchase Gifts of Nutrition to send to malnourished children.