A total of 2.5 million people in East Africa are in dire need of food aid following an extended dry period and the delayed onset of rains in parts of sub-Saharan Africa last year.

According to the United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Kenya has the highest number of hungry people, with 1.5 million experiencing chronic food shortages. Burundi comes second with 589,300 people in need of aid.
Rwanda has 265,000 and in Uganda, 180,000 people are unable to access adequate food. Tanzania is the only country in the EAC without food insecure individuals. However, the situation could change if there is a major decline in crop harvest this year.

READ: Experts: 750,000 Rwandans face hunger

If this happens across the region, there are fears the number of food insecure people will increase. All the five East African countries depend on rain-fed agriculture and any disruption in the rainfall amount and pattern destabilises the region’s food security.

In addition, the high population growth in all the five countries, which averages above two per cent per annum, has made it difficult for the respective governments to adequately feed their populations.

Outside EAC, as at the end of last year, Sudan and Ethiopia had the highest number of hungry people, with 4.4 million and 3.2 million respectively. South Sudan, Africa’s youngest nation, which plunged into civil conflict in 2013, has 1.5 million people in need of food rations.

“Following an extended dry period and delayed onset of rains, a large part of the arid, semi-arid lands have received below-average rainfall providing limited relief,” OCHA said in its latest regional humanitarian snapshot.

In other parts of the region, increased concerns about the likelihood of El Nino rains starting in July to late last year, also played a role in disorganising farmers’ plans. However, the rains which were expected to cause a wetter-than-average October-December short rainy season were not realised in many parts of eastern Africa.

Frequent clashes in North Eastern Kenya over resources and politics, the ongoing military offensive launched by the Somali army and the African Union Mission in Somalia as well as the fighting between government and opposition forces in South Sudan have displaced many residents, increasing the number of food insecure people in the region, the UN organisation said.

However, not all parts of the region have experienced pro-longed dry weather. According to OCHA, above-average to average rains have been received in north-western Kenya and south-western South Sudan, while flooding has been reported in south-central Somalia; Ethiopia’s Afar region; and displacement sites in South Sudan.

“This excessive rainfall and flooding are expected to replenish water resources. However, there are concerns about the negative impact on cropping conditions and post-harvest losses in flood-inundated areas,” the report added.

Ethiopia and Kenya still have the highest refugee numbers, a factor that could explain why the two countries also have more people in need of food aid. Ethiopia has 644,000 refugees, Kenya hosts 552,500, Uganda 405,300, Tanzania hosts 88,300, Rwanda 74,590 and Burundi has 49,800.