The World Health Organization (WHO) has launched a funding appeal for $123.7 million to address the urgent needs of more than 80 million people in the Horn of Africa region.

"More than 80 million people in the 7 countries of the region - Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda - are estimated to be food insecure, with more than 37.5 million people classified as being in IPC (Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, food security index) phase 3, a crisis phase where people have to sell their assets to feed themselves and their families, and where malnutrition is widespread," the WHO writes in a statement released Tuesday.

Conflict, climate change, and the covid-19 pandemic have turned the region into a hotbed of famine with disastrous consequences for the health and lives of the people.

"Hunger is a direct threat to the health and survival of millions of people in the Horn of Africa, in addition to weakening the body's defenses and opening the door to disease," stresses Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director-general of WHO, quoted in the organization's note.

"WHO hopes that the international community will support our work on the ground and the response to this dual threat, allowing us to provide treatment to malnourished people, and defend them against infectious diseases," he adds.

The funds requested will go toward urgent measures to protect lives, including strengthening the capacity of countries in the region to detect and respond to disease outbreaks.

The WHO stresses that prolonged drought affecting the region is already causing preventable deaths among children and women during childbirth. Measles outbreaks are also reported in 6 of the 7 countries, against a background of low vaccination coverage. The countries are simultaneously fighting outbreaks of cholera and meningitis as hygiene conditions have deteriorated, with clean water becoming scarce.

"Making sure people have enough to eat is central. Making sure they have clean water is central. But in situations like these, access to basic health services is also central," reinforces Michael Ryan, executive director of the Health Emergencies Program of WHO, quoted in the same note. (Lusa)