World Vision Canada

Published purpose

(August 2011) 2011 is proving to be the driest year since 1951 in many parts of east Africa as a result of an increasingly severe drought. Successive seasons of failed rains, combined with increasing food prices, conflict, and limited humanitarian access, have resulted in food insecurity, water shortages, and acute malnutrition rates well above emergency thresholds. More than 12 million people are now in need of humanitarian assistance in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia. With CIDA support, World Vision is helping to meet the immediate, life saving needs of more than 80,000 drought-affected Somalis, including those who have been displaced from southern Somalia to Puntland and local host communities. To combat the effects of drought, World Vision expects to rehabilitate or establish 25 water points in the target communities. To prevent the spread of water-borne disease, World Vision is constructing 150 latrines with hand washing facilities in the same communities.