Chronic conflict, cyclical drought, floods, disease outbreaks, environmental degradation, rapid population growth, and limited government capacity present significant challenges to vulnerable populations in the ECA region. Between FY 2004 and FY 2013, USAID’s Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA) and USAID’s Office of Food for Peace (USAID/FFP) provided humanitarian assistance in response to a diverse range of natural disasters and complex emergencies, including flooding across the region, drought and food insecurity in the Horn of Africa, Lord’s Resistance Army-related conflict and displacement in the Great Lakes, and post-election violence in Kenya, as well as crises in DRC, Somalia, South Sudan, and Sudan.
From FY 2004 to FY 2013, USAID provided more than $12.1 billion in humanitarian assistance in the ECA region. USAID/FFP provided nearly $9.5 billion for food aid, while USAID/OFDA provided nearly $2.6 billion for health, water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), logistics support and relief commodities, and agriculture and food security assistance, along with nutrition, economic recovery and market systems (ERMS), humanitarian coordination and information management, protection, and shelter and settlements activities.
In the last decade, USAID has deployed eight Disaster Assistance Response Teams in response to complex emergencies in DRC, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, and regional food security crises in the Horn of Africa. USAID assessment teams also traveled to CAR and DRC. In addition, USAID has activated multiple Washington, D.C.-based Response Management Teams to support coordination and response efforts in Sudan and the Horn of Africa.
