Drought conditions in the Horn of Africa are worsening day by day following four consecutive below-average or failed rains. This situation has contributed to increased hunger and seriously eroded the resilience of poor households. Urgent and well-targeted support is required to save lives, improve access to safe water and protect the livelihoods of affected families. The severe drought has caused critical pasture and water shortages in rural areas across Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia, triggering cross-border migration of pastoralist communities in search of pasture and water. Communal surface water sources in the most affected areas are significantly depleted and water levels in strategic boreholes have substantially dropped since December 2021, leading to an exorbitant rise in water prices. The scarcity of water is a key driver of displacement and diarrhea-related morbidity in many parts of the region. Lack of pasture has caused the majority of households to lose their animals as well as livelihood sources leaving pastoralists and farmers with nothing to feed their families. Affected households have been moving to IDP camps hoping to benefit from relief services run by local and international humanitarian actors.
CARE, through the Building Opportunities for Resilience in the Horn of Africa (BORESHA) project, has prioritized and scaled up emergency drought response activities and humanitarian support to vulnerable populations in Mandera county in Kenya, Dolow and Beled Hawa Districts in Somalia and Dollo and Dollo Ado woredas in Ethiopia. BORESHA has provided critical drought response interventions such as the construction and rehabilitation of communal water points for the provision of safe drinking water, distribution of hygiene kits, and water filters, and COVID-19 sensitization. BORESHA also provided livelihood support to the most vulnerable households through rangeland management activities and cash for work. Community Natural Resource Management (NRM) groups and Rangeland Management Councils were trained and engaged in inter-community dialogue and reinforcement of coordination mechanisms for sharing scarce pasture and water. The project also prioritized cross-border peace-building events to help mitigate drought and displacement-induced conflict and tensions.
CARE constructed, rehabilitated, and installed 18 water supply facilities across the Kenya, Somalia, and Ethiopia tri-border regions. The Integrated water systems included solarized boreholes and water tanks and the installation of piping systems from water sources to villages and town centers, thereby improving essential water services for an estimated 176,904 people across the three countries. CARE also distributed WASH materials to 1,760 poor households
Amina Badhe, a mother of ten (9 Boys and 1 girl) is a resident of the Dolo Bay district of Ethiopia. Amina described how BORESHA helped them cope with the impacts of the drought. “Before, we walked 6kms every day to fetch water from the river. It was tiresome and dangerous for women and girls since they were exposed to risks of sexual abuse and harassment. Attacks by crocodiles were a common occurrence. After CARE helped us by constructing the water system, our women and girls no longer have to walk far and take risks to fetch water for our families. We now have a constant water supply near our homes”, says Amina.
The BORESHA project swiftly responded to the drought by giving much-needed humanitarian support to drought-affected households and enhancing the resilience and adaptive capacities of vulnerable households, women, and youth. The project increased income, assets, and skills that reduced the vulnerability of cross-border communities to recurring weather-related shocks and stresses.
Distribution of Covid 19 Wash materials to vulnerable Households in Mandera North