Nearly 20 million people in Greater Horn of Africa face acute hunger | USD 6.4 million needed to address emergencies

The World Health Organization’s Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean is urgently appealing for US$ 6.42 million to sustain lifesaving health and nutrition interventions across Somalia, Sudan and Djibouti.

The appeal forms part of the World Health Organization’s US$ 25.4 million response to the Greater Horn of Africa (GHoA) Food Insecurity and Health Crisis, affecting 6 countries across the WHO Eastern Mediterranean and African regions.

The funding will enable WHO to sustain critical primary health care and lifesaving nutrition services, strengthen surveillance and early warning, maintain outbreak detection and response capacities, expand nutrition screening, support treatment and referral pathways at stabilization centers, strengthen community engagement and pre-position essential medicines, diagnostics and therapeutic supplies.

In Somalia, more than 6.5 million people are experiencing Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) Phase 3 (Crisis) or worse levels of food insecurity, and 1.8 million children are at risk of acute malnutrition.

More than 3.5 million people remain displaced, and funding shortages have forced the closure of over 200 health facilities, severely limiting access to essential care.

Recurrent outbreaks of cholera and acute watery diarrhea (AWD), measles, malaria and other communicable diseases continue to place additional pressure on the already fragile health system.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is working with the Ministry of Health and partners to strengthen the management of severe acute malnutrition through nutrition stabilization centers and by deploying mobile health teams, expanding disease surveillance, strengthening frontline health worker capacity and pre-positioning essential medicines, diagnostics and cholera supplies.

The most severe food insecurity and nutrition emergency is in Sudan

Nearly 19.5 million people are experiencing acute food insecurity, including 5 million people in Integrated Food Security Phase 4, and 135,000 people are facing catastrophic conditions in IPC Phase 5.

Fourteen localities are at risk of famine, and an estimated 825,000 children face severe acute malnutrition. At the same time, therapeutic nutrition supplies are at imminent risk of severe disruption.

WHO is supporting the management of severe acute malnutrition through nutrition stabilization centers, nutrition surveillance, frontline health worker training, supportive supervision, quality improvement, operational support and the pre-positioning of therapeutic supplies.

In Djibouti, approximately 230 000 people, accounting for 22 percent of the population, are experiencing acute food insecurity (IPC PHASE 3+).

More than 34 000 children and pregnant or breastfeeding women are affected by acute malnutrition, and 7700 children require urgent treatment for severe acute malnutrition.

Population mobility, limited access to safe water and overstretched health services continue to heighten the risk of cholera, malaria, measles, dengue and other epidemic-prone diseases.

WHO is supporting the Ministry of Health to strengthen emergency coordination, disease surveillance, outbreak preparedness and essential health and nutrition services.

Without immediate funding, critical health and nutrition interventions will be reduced or interrupted, leaving millions of vulnerable people without access to essential care.

This will increase preventable deaths, accelerate disease transmission and deepen an already devastating crisis across Somalia, Sudan and Djibouti.

The GHoA Food Insecurity and Health Crisis

The GHoA Food Insecurity and Health Crisis are driven by the combined impacts of acute food insecurity, conflict, climate shocks, population displacement, recurrent disease outbreaks, economic pressure and fragile health systems.

More than 37.8 million people are experiencing, or are projected to experience, acute food insecurity and 4.9 million children are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition, including 1.5 million requiring treatment for severe acute malnutrition with medical complications. Children under 5, pregnant and lactating women, displaced populations, refugees and communities in hard-to-reach areas are among the most vulnerable.

WHO is leading a coordinated 3-level response involving headquarters, the Regional Offices for Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean, and country offices. Working closely with ministries of health and partners, WHO is strengthening emergency coordination, disease surveillance and early warning, outbreak preparedness and response, the management of severe acute malnutrition with medical complications and the continuity of essential health services across the 6 affected countries.

However, funding shortfalls, insecurity, limited humanitarian access, overstretched health systems, limited stabilization centre capacity and supply chain disruptions continue to constrain the delivery of lifesaving health and nutrition interventions.

WHO is calling on donors and partners to urgently mobilize the resources needed to sustain critical interventions and prevent further loss of life.