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 Fiscal Year (FY) 2003 and FY 2012, 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 and complex emergencies, including flooding, drought in Ethiopia and Kenya, food insecurity across the Horn of Africa, Lord’s Resistance Army-related conflict and displacement, and post-election violence in Kenya, as well as crises in Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, and the DRC.
Between FY 2003 and FY 2012, USAID provided more than $11.9 billion in humanitarian assistance in the ECA region, including nearly $2.4 billion from USAID/OFDA for programs in water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), health, agriculture and food security, nutrition, economic recovery and market systems, protection, and shelter and settlements, as well as support for humanitarian coordination and information management and the provision of relief commodities. USAID/FFP assistance included nearly $9.5 billion in emergency food aid.
In the last decade, USAID deployed eight Disaster Assistance Response Teams (DARTs) in response to complex emergencies in Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia, the DRC, and Sudan, as well as regional food security crises in the Horn of Africa. USAID assessment teams also traveled to CAR and DRC. In addition, USAID activated multiple Washington, D.C.-based Response Management Teams to support coordination and response efforts in Sudan and the Horn of Africa.
Due to the recurring or chronic nature of many of the disasters in the region, USAID/OFDA promotes activities that increase the resilience of the population to cope with future shocks, while continuing to meet the immediate needs of vulnerable populations. USAID/OFDA has developed a disaster risk reduction (DRR) strategy in the region to complement emergency assistance interventions and address underlying causes of food insecurity and other vulnerabilities. The strategy takes a broad approach to livelihoods, increasing resilience by protecting assets, diversifying income sources, and reducing the impact of risks such as drought, floods, and conflict. USAID/OFDA also supports early recovery activities that help conflict-affected populations rebuild livelihoods and strengthen self-sufficiency, where possible, sustainable, and appropriate.
Through emergency and development food assistance programs, USAID/FFP works to save lives and reduce food insecurity in times of crisis and situations of chronic food insecurity. USAID/FFP emergency food assistance includes both in-kind food aid and cash-based assistance in the form of local and regional procurement of food commodities, cash transfers, and food vouchers, where market conditions allow.