2011 East Africa drought

2011 East Africa drought
Name	2011 East Africa drought
Date	2010–2012
Area	Horn of Africa, East Africa
Fatalities	Estimates vary (tens to hundreds of thousands)
Causes	Failed rains, Indian Ocean Dipole, La Niña, land degradation
Affected	Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, Djibouti, Uganda, Tanzania, Sudan, South Sudan

2011 East Africa drought The 2011 East Africa drought was a prolonged hydrometeorological crisis that produced famine, displacement, and widespread food insecurity across the Horn of Africa and adjacent regions. It resulted from consecutive failed rainy seasons tied to climatic phenomena and was compounded by conflict, market disruption, and limited humanitarian access, triggering large-scale international relief efforts and policy debates on resilience.

Background and Causes

The drought followed failed La Niña-associated rains and an anomalous Indian Ocean Dipole shift, which disrupted the Long Rains and Short Rains cycles affecting the Horn of Africa. Scientific assessments invoked links to sea surface temperature anomalies, shifts in the Intertropical Convergence Zone, and teleconnections studied by World Meteorological Organization, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, UK Met Office, and regional bodies such as the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD). Environmental contributors included deforestation in the Ethiopian Highlands, overgrazing in the Rift Valley, and soil degradation linked to historical land tenure patterns in Somaliland and Puntland. Political instability in Somalia—involving Al-Shabaab insurgency—and armed conflicts in Darfur and South Sudan impeded humanitarian access and market functions, exacerbating the drought’s impact.

Geographic Impact and Affected Countries

The crisis affected pastoralist and agro-pastoralist zones across Somalia, eastern and southern Ethiopia, northern and northeastern Kenya, and parts of Djibouti, Uganda, Tanzania, Sudan, and South Sudan. In Somalia, famine was declared in parts of Bay Region, Bakool, and Lower Shabelle while displacement clusters formed around urban centers like Mogadishu and transit hubs such as Dadaab and Kakuma refugee camps, which were managed by United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). In Kenya, counties including Turkana County, Mandera County, and Wajir County registered acute malnutrition spikes that overwhelmed facilities supported by Kenya Red Cross Society and Ministry of Health (Kenya). Ethiopia’s Somali Region and Somali-inhabited zones in Gode and Jijiga experienced livestock die-offs that affected trade routes to Djibouti City and Berbera. Cross-border movements involved Eritrea transit corridors and affected Gulf of Aden maritime supply chains.

Humanitarian Crisis and Mortality

Malnutrition rates surged with global acute malnutrition exceeding emergency thresholds in many districts, prompting responses from United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), World Food Programme (WFP), Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), and national agencies like Somali Ministry of Health and Ethiopian Disaster Risk Management Commission. Mortality estimates—compiled by agencies such as Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Action Against Hunger—varied, with excess deaths concentrated among children under five in famine-declared zones and among displaced populations in camps like Dadaab. Epidemics of cholera and measles occurred in overcrowded settlements, necessitating vaccination campaigns coordinated with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance and World Health Organization (WHO). Humanitarian corridors and cash-based interventions were limited by Al-Shabaab restrictions, border closures, and logistical constraints affecting Somali National Army-held areas and AMISOM-secured towns.

Government and International Response

National responses involved declarations of emergency by administrations in Kenya, Ethiopia, and Djibouti, and coordination through regional mechanisms such as IGAD and the African Union. International appeals mobilized pledges from bilateral donors including United States Agency for International Development (USAID), United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID), European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO), Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida). Multilateral financing instruments like the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) and WFP operations supported food distributions, while NGOs such as Save the Children, Oxfam, World Vision, CARE International, Islamic Relief and Norwegian Refugee Council scaled programs. Military and naval assets from United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) and European partners assisted logistics; debates emerged over conditionality, counterinsurgency impacts on aid delivery, and the UN’s thresholds for famine declaration.

Food Security, Agriculture, and Livelihoods

Pastoralist livelihoods suffered catastrophic herd losses—camels, goats, and cattle—affecting markets in Garowe, Bosaso, and Hargeisa and long-distance trade routes to Aden and Jeddah. Crop failures in agro-pastoral zones reduced staple harvests of sorghum and maize, disrupting supply chains that linked local traders, Kenya National Cereals and Produce Board, and cross-border commodity exchanges. Market responses included localized price inflation, remittance flows from the Somali diaspora and formal channels via Western Union and MoneyGram, and scaling of cash-transfer programs tested by WFP and Mercy Corps. Agricultural interventions ranged from seed distribution and drought-resistant crop promotion with research inputs from International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) and International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) to community-based water harvesting projects informed by Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) guidelines.

Long-term Recovery and Resilience Measures

Post-crisis strategies emphasized resilience building through social protection systems such as Productive Safety Net Programme (PSNP) in Ethiopia, county-level development plans in Kenya, and livelihood diversification initiatives supported by World Bank, African Development Bank, and bilateral donors. Investments targeted rangeland restoration, borehole drilling and solar-powered water systems, mobile veterinary services, index-based livestock insurance developed with African Risk Capacity, and early warning enhancements via Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) and OCHA coordination. Policy discussions included climate adaptation financing through the Green Climate Fund, integrating pastoral rights into legal frameworks, urban planning for displacement in Mogadishu and Nairobi, and strengthening national disaster risk management institutions like Ethiopia’s National Disaster Risk Management Commission. Lessons influenced later regional programs on drought risk financing, humanitarian–development–peace nexus approaches, and research agendas at African Union Commission and international research centers.

Category:Droughts in Africa