Attachments
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
From 2020 to 2023, the Horn of Africa faced the worst drought the region had experienced since the 1980s and the longest in recorded history. Starting in October 2020, five consecutive failed rainy seasons devastated the livelihoods of pastoral communities and caused crop failures – worsening an already fragile food security situation. This was compounded by rapid increases in food prices due to the conflict in Ukraine, regional crop failures, and the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2023, the World Food Programme estimated that more than 23 million people across Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia faced severe hunger, and acute malnutrition was widespread. Between 2020 and 2023, the Foodgrains Bank network launched a significant response to the humanitarian needs of people experiencing the drought in southern Ethiopia, northern Kenya, and Somalia. In total, $27.8 million of funding was provided to support 22 food assistance projects and seven projects for the treatment of acute malnutrition. Funds came from Global Affairs Canada, Foodgrains Bank’s membership in the Humanitarian Coalition, and over $7.5 million in donations from the Canadian public. Foodgrains Bank’s response was timely and sustained. Local partners were already well positioned to respond, minimizing the costs and maximizing the reach of our programming. In many cases, initial projects were funded early in the drought and more projects were added or expanded as the drought continued and worsened in order to meet the ongoing and growing need. Partners coordinated closely with the Food Security and Nutrition Clusters, Cash Working Groups, governments, and other actors. Overall, 84% of all funding was distributed to participants directly in the form of cash, vouchers, or in-kind commodities. The remaining 16% was used to support transportation and logistics costs, monitoring and evaluation, and other partner organization costs. In total, the projects provided 8,546 MT of food, $9.1 million of cash transfers, and reached 403,726 people in communities experiencing Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) Phase 3 (Crisis) or worse acute food insecurity. Food assistance projects had a significant impact on the food consumption of participants. Although only eight per cent of participants had an acceptable food consumption score (FCS) at baseline, this improved to 73% at endline. Both in-kind and cash responses achieved very similar improvements in food consumption with almost identical efficiency.