The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) on Monday, has predicted that Eastern African countries will face the worst droughts to hit the region in 40 years.
The IGAD which has eight East African countries as part of its trade bloc in the continent, said at a press conference in Nairobi, Kenya, that the region as a whole, has recorded higher temperatures and less than normal rainfall which could result in the worst droughts witnessed in four decades.
While addressing the conference, Workneh Gebeyehu, IGAD’s executive secretary, predicted that millions of people in Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia, including countries in the Horn of Africa, the Nile Valley and the African Great Lakes, as well as other countries in the Eastern region “would experience the kind of drought not experienced in the last 40 years.”
Gebeyehu who based his prediction on a recent report by the Climate Prediction and Applications Centre (ICPAC), added that if nothing is done by governments in the region, the after effect of the droughts will be unimaginable.
According to the agency, more than 29 million people in East Africa are currently facing high levels of food insecurity across the IGAD region, noting that already, 15.5 million to 16 million people are in dire need of immediate food assistance.
“The MAM (March, April, May) rains are crucial for the region, and sadly, we are looking at not just three, but potentially four consecutive failed seasons.
“The severe shortages of water and pasture are leading to smaller food production, significant losses in livestock and wildlife, and a rise in resource-based conflicts in the East African region.
“This coupled with other stress factors such as conflicts in both our region and Europe, the impact of COVID-19 and macro-economic challenges has led to acute levels of food insecurity across the Greater Horn of Africa.
“IGAD’s early warning systems and indicators show the situation will worsen in the East Africa region in the coming months,” Gebeyehu added.