Press Release
IGAD

Nairobi-Kenya: Ministers and Heads of Delegations from IGAD Member States (Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and Uganda) and humanitarian partners met on 6-7 October 2022 in Nairobi during a high-level regional meeting on national and regional efforts to address the persistent food crises in eastern Africa. They have collectively affirmed a joint commitment to develop a comprehensive ‘roadmap’ that prioritizes scaling up famine prevention, strengthens food systems, enhances resilience, and improves cross-border trade within the IGAD region.

The IGAD region continues to grapple with the combined effects of climatic shocks, protracted political and resource-based conflicts, economic decline, escalated food and fuel prices, and inflation. Of the global figures recorded in the Global Report on Food Crises 2022, the region accounts for 22 percent of the global number of acutely food insecure people and 10 million children under five suffering from severe and acute malnutrition.

This is the highest number of acutely food insecure populations recorded, with over 50 million people projected to face severe acute food insecurity by the end of this year. In Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia, 23 million suffer from hunger every day; this number is expected to rise to 26 million early next year. In addition, 24 percent of the world’s 51 million internally displaced people who are found in IGAD countries, mainly in Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan, and Sudan, are also at risk.

The failure of four consecutive rainfall seasons over the last three years has pushed communities in ASAL areas, which are most vulnerable to recurrent droughts, over the brink. With the forecasted failure of the OND 2022 season, a potential fifth consecutive failed rainfall season looms over a region that is already weathering the catastrophic effects of persistent droughts, the worst experienced in 40 years.

The event provided an open platform for member states and humanitarian response partners to engage in strategic, solution-based dialogues and define potential actionable solutions specific to the eastern Africa context. In addition, member states called for responsiveness to the global and regional commitments to fighting food crises along the Humanitarian-Peace-Development nexus. Donors in attendance expressed their continuing commitment to support and develop concrete and scalable actions to address the food and nutrition insecurity situation in the region.

The event was organized by the Global Network Against Food Crises in partnership with IGAD and co-hosted by the Fighting Food Crises along with the HDP Nexus Coalition with the support of the European Union.

Source: IGAD