The "worst" wave... Drought threatens millions in the Horn of Africa

 The Climate Forecast and Application Center of the African Government Authority for Development (IGAD) has warned that the prevailing trends in a historic drought period in the Horn of Africa are now worse than they were during the 2011 drought that killed at least a quarter of a million people.

On Wednesday, the center said that the rainy season is expected to witness, during the next three months, less rain than normal. "This may be the sixth consecutive rainy season without rain," the Associated Press quoted the center as saying in the region, which includes Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya.

The drought - the longest drought on record in Somalia - lasted nearly three years, and tens of thousands of people are said to have died. The United Nations says more than a million people have been displaced in Somalia alone.

Last month, the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Somalia warned that additional deaths in Somalia would "certainly" exceed the declared famines in the country in 2011. Some twenty-three million people are believed to suffer from severe food insecurity in Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya, according to the group. Food Security Work chaired by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Regional Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).

Wednesday's statement said that 11 million cattle, which are essential to the health and wealth of many families, have already died. Many of those affected across the region are pastoralists or farmers who have seen crops dry up and water sources dry up.

The war in Ukraine has affected the humanitarian response, with traditional donors in Europe diverting funding to the crisis closer to home. Workneh Gebeho, Chair of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), urged governments and partners to act "before it is too late". The IGAD Climate Center is a regional climate center that cooperates with the World Meteorological Organization.