ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

The Humanitarian Crisis in the Horn of Africa

The Horn of Africa is experiencing one of its worst humanitarian crises in decades. A confluence of factors, including climate change, conflict, and economic instability, has led to widespread suffering.

Key Drivers of the Crisis

Climate Change: The region has suffered through multiple consecutive failed rainy seasons, resulting in the most severe drought in 40 years. This has decimated crops, livestock, and water sources, leading to widespread famine.
Conflict: Countries like Ethiopia, Somalia, and Sudan have experienced significant conflict, displacing millions and hindering humanitarian aid delivery.
Economic Instability: The region's economies are heavily reliant on agriculture and are particularly vulnerable to climate shocks. Coupled with conflict and political instability, this has exacerbated the crisis.

Humanitarian Impact

Food Insecurity: Millions of people are facing acute food shortages, with children being particularly vulnerable to malnutrition.
Water Scarcity: The lack of access to clean water has led to waterborne diseases and increased mortality rates.
Displacement: Millions of people have been forced to leave their homes due to drought, conflict, and flooding, creating immense pressure on host communities.
Malnutrition: Acute malnutrition rates among children have reached alarming levels, with many children facing life-threatening conditions.

International Response

The international community has been working to address the crisis through humanitarian aid, including food assistance, water provision, and medical care. However, the scale of the crisis is immense, and funding gaps persist.

Comments

Why States Still Use Barrel Bombs

Smoke ascends after a Syrian military helicopter allegedly dropped a barrel bomb over the city of Daraya on Jan. 31.(FADI DIRANI/AFP/Getty Images) Summary Barrel bombs are not especially effective weapons. They are often poorly constructed; they fail to detonate more often than other devices constructed for a similar purpose; and their lack of precision means they can have a disproportionate effect on civilian populations. However, combatants continue to use barrel bombs in conflicts, including in recent and ongoing conflicts in Africa and the Middle East, and they are ideally suited to the requirements of resource-poor states. Analysis Barrel bombs are improvised devices that contain explosive filling and shrapnel packed into a container, often in a cylindrical shape such as a barrel. The devices continue to be dropped on towns all over Syria . Indeed, there have been several documented cases of their use in Iraq over the past months, and residents of the city of Mosul, which was re

Russia Looks East for New Oil Markets

Click to Enlarge In the final years of the Soviet Union, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev began orienting his foreign policy toward Asia in response to a rising Japan. Putin has also piloted a much-touted pivot to Asia, coinciding with renewed U.S. interest in the area. A good expression of intent was Russia's hosting of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in 2012 in Vladivostok, near Russia's borders with China and North Korea. Although its efforts in Asia have been limited by more direct interests in Russia's periphery and in Europe, Moscow recently has been able to look more to the east. Part of this renewed interest involves finding new export markets for Russian hydrocarbons. Russia's economy relies on energy exports, particularly crude oil and natural gas exported via pipeline to the West. However, Western Europe is diversifying its energy sources as new supplies come online out of a desire to reduce its dependence on Russian energy supplies . This has

LONDON POLICE INDIRECTLY ENCOURAGE CRIMINALS TO ATTACK RUSSIAN DIPLOMATIC PROPERTY

ILLUSTRATIVE IMAGE A few days ago an unknown perpetrator trespassed on the territory of the Russian Trade Delegation in London, causing damage to the property and the vehicles belonging to the trade delegation , Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said during the September 12 press briefing. The diplomat revealed the response by the London police was discouraging. Police told that the case does not have any prospects and is likely to be closed. This was made despite the fact that the British law enforcement was provided with video surveillance tapes and detailed information shedding light on the incident. By this byehavior, British law inforcements indirectly encourage criminals to continue attacks on Russian diplomatic property in the UK. Zakharova’s statement on “Trespassing on the Russian Trade Mission premises in London” ( source ): During our briefings, we have repeatedly discussed compliance with the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, specif