Snapshot: Greater Horn of Africa food insecurity and health - grade 3 emergency: 12 July 2023

Overview

The greater Horn of Africa is facing a dire food insecurity crisis resulting from extreme weather events, along with conflict, the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, and high food and fuel prices. Most parts of the region have just come out of a drought, the worst on record, while other areas faced substantial flooding immediately after. The onset of El Nino was confirmed in early July 2023, amid expectations that this climate phenomenon will bring another period of extreme weather events, along with more disease outbreaks. Almost 60 million people are estimated to be food insecure in the region, an increase from about 37 million in mid-2022 when the emergency was declared. On-going outbreaks of measles and cholera are a major public health concern, not least because the combination of malnutrition and these diseases often proves fatal.