The drought in the Horn of Africa is affecting nearly ten million people from across Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia. A deadly combination of successive failed rains and rising food prices has resulted in the worst drought the region has seen for 60 years.

Many people have lost their livelihoods. Livestock in the region is seen as a source of income and food, for some people their livestock is everything. Islamic Relief is already witnessing people crossing the border from Somalia into Kenya as they attempt to flee the drought that affects their country. Islamic Relief is also seeing an increased number of families arriving in Mogadishu and other areas trying to escape the drought and find a means to feed their family.

In Kenya the food prices are at an all time high as a result of a decrease in livestock. The largest refugee camp in the world is in Kenya, on the Somali-Kenya border, with over 300,000 inhabitants. Islamic Relief has observed an increased number of cases of widespread malnutrition and diarrhoea in children which is deadly in the current conditions.

We are appealing for emergency aid to help with the humanitarian effort.