A 5th consecutive below average rainy season is expected next year, leaving little room for optimism in East Africa.

According to the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWSNET), this would push the region into a deeper humanitarian crisis that will see millions of people in urgent need of food, water and medical treatment.

Failed crops and the widespread death of livestock, compounded with conflict in some countries, have led to massive displacement of people across the region. This has raised concerns among aid organisations that resources will reach affected people due to instability in some parts of the Horn of Africa.

Cash transfers have been used throughout the region as a means to distribute aid during the crisis. Somalia, in particular, has seen a massive scale up of this type of programming in the past year. Around 3 million people in that country are now receiving some type of cash assistance.

Cash transfer programs were also part of the response in in South Sudan, Ethiopia and Kenya.

According to the United Nations Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, by the end of this year, the number of people on the programme will have doubled.

Meanwhile, as water resources diminished, outbreaks of cholera have been reported across the region. Compounding the situation are overcrowded refugee camps that lack proper sanitation.

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Normal to above normal rains for bulk of SADC region in 2018
Moisture deficit threatens early crops across Africa