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Japan gives Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia $10m for relief food

A file photo of food aid distributed through a partnership between Wajir County and the Kenya Red Cross Society. (Photo: Wajir County Press Unit)

By Foreign Reporter | 07 Feb 2024

These countries have been grappling with severe humanitarian crises exacerbated by a combination of factors including drought over the past three years and global spikes in food and energy prices.

Japan has announced a decision to extend Emergency Grant Aid totalling $10 million to Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia.

These countries have been grappling with severe humanitarian crises exacerbated by a combination of factors including drought over the past three years and global spikes in food and energy prices.

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Additionally, devastating floods ravaged the region from October to December last year, causing extensive damage and exacerbating an already dire situation.

Japan's assistance aims to address urgent humanitarian needs, particularly in providing shelter, water, and sanitation.

The aid will be channelled through international organisations such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

These organisations will allocate the funds to relief efforts including shelter provision, water and sanitation, health, and protection.

The Emergency Grant Aid displays Japan's commitment to supporting vulnerable populations facing humanitarian crises and ensuring access to necessities like water and sanitation.

Extreme weather

The floods are the latest in a series of extreme weather events in recent years to hit the Horn of Africa, where children and communities find themselves at the sharp end of the global climate crisis.

Flash floods killed at least 111 people, including 16 children, across the Horn of Africa last November, and left more than 770,000 displaced.

Unrelenting rainfall across Kenya’s northern counties and the capital, Nairobi, led to widespread flooding, displacing an estimated 36,000 people and killing 46 since the beginning of the rainy season in 2023.

Similarly, heavy rainfall in Somalia and the Ethiopian highlands left the central Somalia town of Beledweyne completely submerged, after the Shabelle River burst its banks forcing an estimated 250,000 people or 90 per cent of the population out of their homes.

Across Somalia, eight children were among 32 people who died in the floods, with more than 456,000 displaced countrywide.

Bay region, in South West State, bore the brunt of heavy rains, accounting for 37 per cent (454,320 people) of the more than 1.24 million people who were affected.

In the Gambella, Afar and Somali regions of Ethiopia, Save the Children teams reported continuous and relentless heavy downpours, which led to flooding, landslides and displacement.

At least 33 people including eight children died in the floods in Ethiopia, with the deaths caused by people drowning while trying to flee the devastation.