International Rescue Committee (IRC)
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Crisis in East Africa

Women draw water in Somalia
Photo: Peter Biro/IRC
More than 13 million people are still in urgent need of food and assistance after the worst drought to hit  East Africa in 60 years. The International Rescue Committee has worked in East Africa since the 1990s. Today, we deliver lifesaving aid to hundreds of thousands of people in some of the most desperate locations in three countries across the region.

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news | irc blog | in the media

Famine in Somalia

  • <p>The number of Somalis fleeing to Kenya has slowed to a trickle since Kenya sent troops into Somalia in pursuit of Al Shabab militants. As a result, thousands of people are trapped inside Somalia with few safe places to go. After fleeing their home in the south, this family found refuge in a makeshift camp in Galkayo in central Somalia.</p>
  • <p>This woman took shelter in Galkayo after fleeing clan fighting in the Mudug region. Somalia has been beset by such fighting since 1991 when the former central government was toppled by rival clan militias.</p>
  • <p>The Sa&rsquo;ad clan militia - some of their fighters are pictured here - regularly fight rival clans over access to water and other resources. This fall an outbreak of violence in Galkayo killed at least 30 people and displaced hundreds.</p>
  • <p>Somalia is awash with weapons and violence. In addition to an insurgency led by Al Shabab, one of Africa&rsquo;s most fearsome militant Islamist groups, the country is beset by widespread piracy and kidnapping.</p>
  • <p>Galkayo is an important livestock and business center. The town has seen its population grow as rudimentary camps have sprung up to house those fleeing famine and fighting. This woman fled clan fighting in Mudug.</p>
  • <p>Hamdi Hussein Hassan, 32, lost her husband and two children when a mortar shell hit her house in Mogadishu. The country&rsquo;s capital sees frequent clashes between Al Shabab and African Union peacekeeping forces. She fled to Galkayo with her surviving daughter, left paralyzed by the blast, and now lives in a small shelter made from sticks and cardboard.</p>
  • <p>The drought in Somalia and East Africa has been exacerbated by fighting and by aid workers&#39; lack of access to much of southern Somalia. Here, children fetch water at a tap installed by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in the village of Darssalam in central Somalia.</p>
  • <p>Women fetch water at an IRC-drilled well. The IRC is building and repairing wells, hand pumps and pipelines in Somalia&rsquo;s Mudug region, as well as training community volunteers in hygiene.</p>
  • <p>The drought has devastated livestock, a catastrophe for people who are mainly pastoralists and derive their income from animals. To prevent further losses, the IRC has built water troughs for animals and vaccinated and de-wormed some 35,000 livestock.</p>
  • <p>IRC workers de-worm goats in Do&rsquo;ol village.</p>
  • <p>Abdi Hussein Farah, 40, lost more than 100 goats in the drought. After trekking through the desert with his few remaining animals he built a shelter near the village of Do&rsquo;ol. &ldquo;I have only a few goats left now,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Here, they have a better chance of survival.&rdquo;</p>
  • <p>Salado Ali Salat, 35, is one of hundreds of displaced Somalis who have received goats from the IRC.</p>
  • <p>With no end in sight to Somalia&rsquo;s civil conflict, the effects of the drought are expected to last into 2012 and beyond. &ldquo;The situation in Somalia is probably the largest catastrophe in the world at the moment,&rdquo; says Prafulla Mishra, the IRC&rsquo;s Somalia director.</p>
Launch Slideshow

The IRC is providing livestock, water and food to tens of thousands of people in Somalia who have fled the country’s most devastating drought and famine in 60 years.

More Slideshows ›

How We Help

  • In refugee camps in Dadaab, northeastern Kenya, we provide new arrivals with medical screenings and assistance and give fortified food to malnourished young children. Our doctors and nurses treat some 500 refugees daily.
  • In Ethiopia, we are trucking in water and installing water-supply systems in camps currently housing over 100,000 Somali refugees. We are also providing 285,000 Ethiopians in three regions with water, sanitation, hygiene and livestock assistance.
  • In central Somalia, we are providing water to hard-hit communities and conducting livelihoods programs for nearly 80,000 people. 
  • In the Turkana region of Kenya, the IRC’s extensive aid efforts include nutritional programs for 70,000 malnourished children under age five.
  • The IRC is supporting the efforts of the Kenyan government and the World Food Program to deliver food where it is most needed.
May 7, 2013 | Video
Recovering from drought and famine in Somalia
March 26, 2013 | Blog
Dadaab Stories: Inside the world's largest refugee camp
February 6, 2013 | Blog
Video: Your help inspires heroism in East Africa
January 22, 2013 | Press Release
Press Release - Kenya: Civil society calls on government to end abuse of refugees
January 3, 2013 | Blog
We Can Be Heroes: bringing a little boy back from the brink of starvation
December 31, 2012 | Blog
The IRC in 2012: renewal
October 16, 2012 | Blog
Today only, a chance to triple your donation for drought relief in East Africa
October 12, 2012 | Blog
The IRC brings health to Hobyo

See more IRC stories about the IRC's drought response

The IRC's Work in the Media

Rain water conservation in Somalia helps thousands
March 22, 2013 | GlobalPost
Rain water conservation in Somalia helps thousands
World food day: Mali hunger crisis deepens
October 16, 2012 | CNN
World food day: Mali hunger crisis deepens
ITV News wins award for east Africa famine coverage
May 8, 2012 | ITV.com
ITV News wins award for east Africa famine coverage

See more stories about the IRC's drought response in the media

In FOCUS: SOMALIA

This is Somalia from International Rescue Committee on Vimeo.

The IRC's Peter Biro reports on the crisis in Somalia, a country devastated by conflict and the worst drought in 60 years. As a result of the violence, hundreds of thousands of people are displaced inside Somalia with little access to humanitarian aid. Learn how the IRC is helping uprooted families survive.