Over 20 Million Children in the Horn of Africa Affected by Drought
Maimun Ali, 31, holds her two-year-old child at Sahal Macalin Ciise Stabilization Centre in Baidoa, Somalia, on February 14, 2022. 
Africa is one of the world’s regions most affected by climate change effects, claims the UN, such as drought, floods and wildfires, while also being one of the lowest contributors to global greenhouse gas emissions.The number of children in grave drought conditions and threatened by severe hunger, thirst and disease in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia has reached 20.2 million, more than doubling in five months, according to a UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) statement.The body noted that the drought is the most severe in “more than two generations,” as the Horn of Africa is devastated by climate change, conflict, global inflation and grain shortages.”Humanitarian assistance must be continued to save lives and build the resilience of the staggering number of children and families who are being pushed to the edge – dying from hunger and disease and being displaced in search of food, water and pasture for their livestock,” said UNICEF Deputy Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa Lieke van de Wiel.
AfricaUNHCR: Dadaab Camps Overstretched as Drought & Violence Rage on in Somalia16 December, 18:25 GMTIt is estimated that almost two million children in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia are in need of urgent treatment for the deadliest form of hunger – severe acute malnutrition.
The organization also underlined that "approximately 2.7 million children are out of school because of the drought, with an additional estimated four million children at risk of dropping out."
UNICEF appealed for $759 million in funding to provide life-saving support to children next year.Earlier, the UN issued its Global Humanitarian Overview, noting that around 339 million people in the world will be in need of humanitarian assistance and protection in 2023, calling the figure a “phenomenal” and “depressing” number.
