The Horn and East Africa region has been affected by yet another drought with hardly any reprieve from the 2016 El Nino induced crisis. By end of March 2017 the UN estimated that 22.9 million people in the greater Horn were food insecure, a figure expected to rise as the crisis worsens. The number of people affected in the three countries is 8.5 million people in Ethiopia, 3.2 million in Somalia and 3.4 million in Kenya.
Oxfam declared the Horn of Africa Drought as a major crisis in January 2017. Based on the prioritisation, the response actions commenced and scale up of the intervention started. Oxfam is responding in all three countries - Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia, targeting people in need. The target is to provide WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) and EFSVL (Emergency Food Security and Vulnerable Livelihood) assistance to over 1.5 million people across the region. Oxfam is responding in line with its distinct global competencies of WASH and EFSVL as well with protection interventions alongside safe programming and gender mainstreaming within the technical programmes. The overall funding target for the Horn of Africa response programme is USD 53.1 million
This document provides an overview of the Oxfam Drought response work in Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia. It provides the strategic fitness of Oxfam Humanitarian programming in an increasing complex regional and country context as well as achievements and lessons learnt.