UNICEFs Response to the Horn of Africa Emergency: One Year On

A Report, July 2012

UNICEFs Response to the Horn of Africa Emergency: One Year On

A Report, July 2012

Cover photo Kenya: A small girl stands amid a crowd in the village of Kapua in Rift Valley Province. In this predominantly pastoralist region, many families are selling their livestock to buy increasingly expensive food. UNICEF/Kate Holt

Support from Americans was critical to saving the lives of so many children across the Horn of Africa, and their generosity is still being felt by families in the region. But despite serious progress, there is a long road ahead for millions of fragile children. As long as any one of them dies needlessly, we still have work to do. Caryl Stern, President and CEO of the U.S. Fund for UNICEF The Situation Last year, on July 20, 2011, the crisis in the Horn of Africa reached its boiling point when the United Nations declared famine in two regions of Southern Somalia. As the crisis worsened over the next several weeks, the United Nations classified four more regions of Southern and Central Somalia as famine zones. At the height of the crisis in the Horn of Africa, more than 13 million people in Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Djibouti were impacted by the severe drought gripping the region.

Photo right Kenya: Somali women and children stand outside temporary tents in the Dagahaley refugee camp in North Eastern Province, near the Kenya-Somalia border. UNICEF/ Kate Holt

Though the severity of the crisis has lessened, these countries continue to struggle with high malnutrition and child mortality indicators. With a third of the population, or 2.5 million, still in need of emergency assistance, Somalia remains the worst affected country. In some regions of the Southern Somalia, one in five children is suffering from life-threatening acute malnutrition. In Kenya, 2.2 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance, as do 3.2 million people in Ethiopia. Malnutrition continues to be a serious concern. Currently, nearly 900,000 children are suffering from malnutrition in the three countries. The crisis forced thousands of people out of their homes. There are now more than 626,000 Somali refugees in Kenya and Ethiopia. Inside Somalia, more than one million people are internally displaced, nearly 60 percent
UNICEFs Response to the Horn of Africa Emergency: One Year On 1

of them children. Conflict, instability, and poor rains pose a major threat to children and their families. Currently, there are already indications the situation could deteriorate in areas of Southern Somalia, where acute malnutrition among children under the age of five is nearly twice the emergency threshold. To fully overcome this crisis, and to ensure it does not happen again, we must sustain the humanitarian response going forward, focusing on building the ability to recover from adversity and reducing the risk of damage from disasters. UNICEFs Response There was no doubt immediate action was required to address the situation, and UNICEF mobilized a massive amount of resources and staff. This timely response was successful. In late 2011, the increased aid response and favorable rains improved conditions for affected communities and displaced and refugee children. The famine was contained and progressively eased in six areas of Southern Somalia. Still, the future of millions of children hangs in the balance. We need to continue our efforts to preserve the gains we have worked so hard to achieve, and invest in children today to prevent another catastrophe from happening again in the Horn of Africa. One year later, however, it is clear the extraordinary international support helped to save countless lives and reverse the famine. With generous support from donors, partners, and governments who provided over $405 million in 2011, UNICEF was able to expand both its emergency and development work in drought-stricken parts of Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti. Between July and December 2011, UNICEF: Delivered 63,619 metric tons of humanitarian supplies to the four affected countries, including more than 30,000 metric tons of supplementary food, and 7,746 metric tons of Plumpynut and other ready-to-use therapeutic food to treat severely malnourished children. To date, UNICEF has: Treated nearly one million children for malnutrition across the region. To further build resilience, disaster risk reduction is being integrated into UNICEFs emergency and development programs. Basic services for health, nutrition, sanitation, and education at community levels are being strengthened. UNICEF is also working with partners to strengthen safety nets for vulnerable families using cash transfers and vouchers. Highlighted below are exemplary milestones achieved by UNICEF since July 2011 in the areas of nutrition, health, WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene), child protection, and education through your generous support: Nutrition In Somalia, over 455,000 malnourished children have been admitted and treated at UNICEF-supported nutrition centers.

UNICEFs Response to the Horn of Africa Emergency: One Year On

 In Ethiopia, almost 288,000 children suffering from severe acute malnutrition throughout the country were admitted into UNICEFsupported nutrition centers. Between January and May 2012, UNICEF provided 1,724 metric tons of ready-to-use-therapeutic food, which was sent to the regions in support of the therapeutic feeding. Between July 2011 and May 2012, 180,000 Kenyan children suffering from acute malnutrition were treated. In addition to management of acute malnutrition, UNICEF continues to focus on high impact interventions such as vitamin and micronutrient supplementation, complementary feeding, breastfeeding, and improved hygiene practices. Health Since the declaration of famine in parts of Central and Southern Somalia in July 2011, over 1.5 million children have been vaccinated against measles. Basic equipment, essential medicines, and medical supplies were provided to partners operating 180 maternal and child health centers and 264 health posts. All told, these facilities had a coverage area of an estimated 1.8 million people in Central and Southern Somalia. Since January 2012, over Somali 470,000 children have benefited from a bundled health package of vitamin A supplementation, deworming tablets, and vaccinations against measles, polio, diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus. Since mid-2011, UNICEF has supported the vaccination of over 7 million Ethiopian children against measles. In the Afar and Somali regions, 46 mobile health and nutrition teams continue to provide basic health and nutrition services to communities in hard to reach areas, reaching more than 100,000 people between January and April 2012 alone. With the support of UNICEF, Ethiopias health extension program presently deploys over 34,000 government salaried female health

Photo right Kenya: A sleeping childs upper arm is measured by a nurse during a UNICEF-assisted nutrition screening in Longelop Village, near the town of Lodwar in Rift Valley Province. UNICEF/ Kate Holt

UNICEFs Response to the Horn of Africa Emergency: One Year On

workers. Working in pairs, these dedicated women work in 15,000 village health clinics equipped with cold chain equipment to transport and store vaccines, medication, midwifery equipment, and resources to assess and treat malnutrition. Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) Since July 2011, almost 2.7 million people in Central and Southern Somalia have gained access to water through sustained and temporary interventions such as the construction and rehabilitation of water points, water chlorination and purification, and water trucking. Almost 136,000 displaced Somalis gained access to sanitation facilities in Central and Southern Somalia. In the second half of 2011, UNICEF Ethiopia provided some 395,000 people with sustained access to safe, reliable water supplies. In the same period, UNICEF trucked water to more than 114,000 people. So far in 2012, UNICEF has made clean drinking, cooking, and bathing water available to an estimated 584,368 people. People residing in Kenya have seen similar results. Between July and December 2011, more than 1.4 million people in Kenyas emergencyaffected districts and refugee camps gained access to clean water. Since January 2012, an additional 375,000 people have been reached with safe water in their communities, schools, and health facilities. Child Protection From July 2011 to May 2012, more than 350 Child Friendly Spaces (CFSs) were established and supported by UNICEF in Somalia. Close to 37,000 Somali children benefitted from these CFSs, which offered essential education, recreation, and psychosocial services. These spaces were designed as temporary emergency measures and many have now been phased out wherever possible. An essential component of this phase out strategy has been the reintegration of children into formal schooling. UNICEF Somalia also supported the provision of medical, legal, and psychosocial service to some 6,500 survivors of gender-based violence, sexual exploitation, and abuse. Additionally, 950 Somali children released from armed groups benefitted from rehabilitation and community reintegration programs.
Photo right: Ethiopia: UNICEF Child Protection Specialist Mike Charley accompanies 13-year-old Adow Issack Raman from a transit centre in the Dollo Ado area. They are taking a bus to the Kobe refugee camp, where Adow will be reunited with relatives. UNICEF/Jiro Ose

UNICEFs Response to the Horn of Africa Emergency: One Year On

 UNICEF Ethiopia had similar success in the area of child protection. Since last year, more than 2,500 unaccompanied minors and separated children have benefitted from identification, registration, and reunification interventions in the five refugee camps around Dollo Ado. In addition, UNICEF has overseen the establishment of 15 CFSs that are providing 15,000 children with psychosocial services in each of the Dollo Ado camps. In Kenya, UNICEF has provided 6,200 children with access to protective services in drought-affected areas. Some 63,500 children and young people are attending the CFSs in the Dadaab refugee camps. Education In the year since July 2011, over 380,000 students attended 1,840 UNICEF-supported schools in Central and Southern Somalia. UNICEF supported the reopening and running of schools through the provision of school supplies and the training of teachers on education, psychosocial support, and life skills. UNICEF support also enabled 155 schools in camps for displaced Somalis to continue operating during the June-September school holiday, providing 37,000 children with a safe and protective learning environment. As part of its emergency preparedness and response plan for 2012, UNICEF Ethiopia has already pre-positioned and commenced the distribution of education supplies that will benefit an estimated 107,000 school-aged children throughout Ethiopia. These supplies include school materials for individual students and their teachers, supplies for the classroom, school tents, recreational kits, and hygiene kits for teenage girl students. Since last year, 14 primary schools and 13 early childhood development (ECD) centers have been established in and around the Dollo Ado refugee camps. Presently, over 21,000 primary aged children are enrolled. Many of these students are attending school for the first time in their lives.

Photo right Ethiopia: Somali girls attend a UNICEFsupported school in the Kobe refugee camp in the Dollo Ado area of Ethiopias Somali Region. They are among some 27,000 Somali refugees currently sheltering in the camp. UNICEF/Jiro Ose

UNICEFs Response to the Horn of Africa Emergency: One Year On

 Throughout Kenya, education and recreational activities have helped to provide vulnerable children from the host and refugee communities with a degree of safety and security, while also offering opportunities to deliver other life-saving services. To date, 115,000 children from drought-affected areas have benefitted from education supplies, including ECD kits, hygiene education and mobile school kits. On 30 April 2012, Kenyas Ministry of Education, UNICEF, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and NGO partners launched the Joint Strategy for Education in Dadaab 20122015. This is the result of extensive consultations with partners in Dadaab jointly lead by UNHCR and UNICEF. Partners are currently developing a work plan based on the strategy. In the Dadaab refugee camps, 116,000 children benefited from UNICEFs education materials. The Way Forward The 2011 Horn of Africa drought has proven to be an unprecedented emergency, unique in its magnitude, depth, and scope. The combination of malnutrition, poverty, poor health, and escalating conflict has made it one of the most challenging environments in which to work. UNICEF has pledged to do anything and everything to support the children of the Horn. UNICEFs short-term emergency assistance, although crucial to address health, nutrition, and water and sanitation needs, will not prevent future crises. Drawing inspiration from communities own responses and coping strategies to crises, UNICEF has been increasingly working over the years on long-term interventions to build resilience and address the needs of the most vulnerable. We need to preserve our hard-won gains, and invest in children today to prevent similar crises from happening again in the future. Thank you for investing in our commitment to all of the children and families affected by the convergence of drought, conflict, and many other challenges. By joining us you are helping to ensure that they are able to move on and realize that living healthy, productive lives is possible. We remain champions for children even when faced with adversity. Together, we remain champions for the children of the Horn.

BELIEVE IN ZERO
The United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) works in more than 190 countries and territories to save and improve childrens lives, providing health care and immunizations, clean water and sanitation, nutrition, education, emergency relief and more. The U.S. Fund for UNICEF supports UNICEFs work through fundraising, advocacy, and education in the United States. Together, we are working toward the day when zero children die from preventable causes and every child has a safe and healthy childhood. U.S. Fund for UNICEF 125 Maiden Lane New York, NY 10038 1.800.4UNICEF www.unicefusa.org
UNICEFs Response to the Horn of Africa Emergency: One Year On 6

The United Nations Childrens Fund (UNICEF) works in 190 countries to save and improve childrens lives, providing health care and immunizations, clean water and sanitation, nutrition, education, emergency relief and more. The U.S. Fund for UNICEF supports UNICEFs work through fundraising, advocacy, and education in the United States. Together, we are working toward the day when zero children die from preventable causes and every child has a safe and healthy childhood.

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