Report has it that the Horn of Africa is experiencing its worst drought in 40 years, affecting an estimated 36 million people and displacing 2.3 million people.
At the just concluded 2023 Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, the United States through its Special Presidential Envoy for Climate, John Kerry announced $4 million for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to support migrants, refugees.
According to the statement released by State Department Spokesman on Thursday while this support will also help host communities impacted by climate events in Kenya provided through the Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM).
Kenya recently ranked as the 31st most vulnerable country to the effects of climate change. Kenya’s Garissa and Turkana Counties are home to large pastoral communities that host thousands of refugees and migrants who have fled conflict and drought across the region.
This $4 million contribution is dedicated to improving data on climate mobility and providing support in agricultural regions home to so many displaced persons, consistent with President Biden’s Executive Order 14013 concerning the impacts of climate change on migration.
It stated that this funding is in addition to the $5 million provided last year by PRM to the Migration Multi-Partner Trust Fund, supporting collective action for safe and orderly migration including the Inter- governmental Authority on Development’s research into cross-border migration linked to climate change.
“As we face the growing impacts of the climate crisis, the United States remains committed to promoting ambitious approaches for confronting the climate crisis, and safe, orderly, humane migration management in Africa and around the world”, the Envoy said.
Droughts, climate change and conflict are wreaking havoc in the horn of Africa, making food scarcer by the day. Every day, refugees and displaced families are having to make impossible choices to keep their children from going hungry.
