A woman who belongs to a women's farming collective.

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Horn of Africa crisis

In 2011 the Horn of Africa had the worst drought in 60 years. Donor support from New Zealand, including the New Zealand government, contributed more than $560,000 to a multi-million dollar international Caritas response to the crisis.

Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia, and surrounding countries were the worst affected. Our work is focused in Kenya, where our Humanitarian Programmes Officer Mark Mitchell visited in March 2012. He reports that food security in Kenya improved following the harvests from the October-November short rains and the scaled up humanitarian response that was implemented in the most affected areas.

The Turkana region in Kenya is still in need of food aid. Factors that have made this region highly vulnerable include conflict, environmental degradation, poor roading resulting in high food prices, poor irrigation, and livestock disease. Non-food activities like rainwater harvesting are also being implemented to make the area more resilient.

For the rest of Kenya, the Caritas network is working on a recovery strategy that would include continued food for work in the most affected districts while addressing some of the underlying factors. Non-food activities would include restocking animals; repairing water points; digging shallow wells; distributing seeds, fertilisers and pesticides; and providing veterinary services.

Caritas Aotearoa New Zealand sent $430,000 for relief efforts in 2011, while an additional $130,000 will go towards ongoing recovery in 2012.

Read case studies of two women who have survived the drought with the help of Caritas.

Funding from New Zealand Aid Programme

A Caritas water project in the Meru district of eastern Kenya features in recent coverage of the New Zealand Aid Programme in the Horn of Africa crisis. The New Zealand government programme contributed $238,000 towards our work in Kenya.

Caritas Horn and East Africa appeal to help millions in worst drought for 60 years - media release

Caritas pledges $50,000 towards Horn of Africa - media release

East Africa after the food crisis - Caritas Internationalis

On the crisis from the Caritas blog

Read our two page A4 flyer on the Horn of Africa, Horn of Africa Appeal_Aug 2011 (below). This is a useful resource for school and parishes.

View a slideshow of Caritas’ response to the Horn of Africa drought 2011 – intended outcomes, achievements and lessons learnt. Prepared for presentation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Trade, May 2012. Download from bottom of page as either powerpoint (11 MB) or pdf (1 MB).