The United States has issued a drought alert for Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia, warning that conditions in parts of the Horn of Africa countries threaten starvation, water shortages and diseases.
The alert, issued on Wednesday in Washington by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), said US satellites have detected ”areas of stifling drought” in portions of the three nations for the sixth year in a row.
”These conditions leave the region with threats of starvation, water shortages, widespread crop losses and disease outbreaks,” the NOAA said in a statement.
The lack of rain in eastern Kenya, south-eastern Ethiopia and northern and central Somalia could ruin the current minor agricultural season that ends in May and is usually counted on to supply food through the next harvest, it said.
”If the drought continues, any hope of success for a decent, early-stage agricultural season in the Horn would be seriously at risk,” said Felix Kogan, of NOAA’s Office of Research and Applications.
”We are issuing a drought alert to notify humanitarian and relief agencies of these potentially deadly conditions so that, hopefully, lives can be saved,” he said in a statement.
The NOAA, part of the US Department of Commerce, issues similar alerts throughout the world when its satellite reconnaissance detects dangerous weather conditions or trends, so that officials can ease the damage they cause. — Sapa-AFP