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Situation report: Greater Horn of Africa food insecurity and health - grade 3 emergency: 1 February — 31 March 2023

4 July 2023
 | Emergency Situational Updates
Situation report: Greater Horn of Africa food insecurity and health - grade 3 emergency: 1 February — 31 March 2023
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Overview

  • Countries in the greater Horn of Africa continued to face extreme weather events including drought due to five failed rainy seasons and flooding since March 2023.
  • Nearly 46 million people in IPC3+ are in a state of crisis characterized by elevated levels of acute food insecurity. Six million people are in IPC phase 4 and 129 thousand in IPC phase 5 (South Sudan and Somalia).
    Nearly 2.3M new internally displaced people are reported mainly from Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya due to drought.
  • Over 16 million people have been displaced due to conflict, drought, and flooding with 11.6 million being internally displaced while 4.5 million are refugees and asylum seekers. 2.3 million people have been displaced due to drought since January 2022.
  • Nearly 12 million children under five are likely to be acutely malnourished with 2.9 million of them requiring treatment for severe acute malnutrition in 2023.
  • A steep increase in SAM admissions in South Sudan and Kenya, the highest numbers in the last 3 years and an increased number in Somalia, Ethiopia, and Uganda since January 2022 to 31 March 2023.
    Ongoing measles outbreaks affect all the seven countries in the region, in response reactive vaccination campaigns are conducted.
  • A new cholera outbreak was declared in March 2023 from South Sudan after two patients tested positive for V. Cholerae in Malakal County, upper Nile state which makes four countries dealing with the outbreak. Measles outbreak is ongoing in all the seven countries resulting in increased morbidities and mortalities in the region.
  • In response to the outbreaks, several reactive measles vaccination campaigns were conducted in all countries as well as, OCV (oral cholera vaccination) campaign in Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia, and South Sudan.
  • WHO continues to provide all the necessary support on leadership and coordination, surveillance and health information, outbreak prevention and control, essential nutrition actions and health services to all 7 countries in the greater horn of Africa (Djibouti, Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Uganda).

     

    WHO Team
    Emergency Operations (EMO), WHO Headquarters (HQ)