By Shazia Arshad, Head of Communications & Creative Content at Islamic Relief UK.
At the beginning of Ramadan, I visited food banks in the UK that Islamic Relief UK is supporting and met people struggling to feed themselves. I was shocked at how the rising cost of living and effects of the pandemic have pushed families deeper into poverty.
It’s a devastating situation and it was heart breaking listening to stories of mothers unable to feed their children.
What struck me most was the similarity between the stories I was hearing from mothers in East London and mothers in East Africa. Both being forced to make tough choices about how to feed their families and not sure if they will be able to put a meal on the table at the end of a fasting day.
During the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, when I and other Muslims across the world go without food and water from sunrise to sunset, the hunger we experience is not remotely comparable. I am fortunate to be able to enjoy a meal with my family and break my fast every evening; that is not the case for many in East Africa.
As I think of those struggling on our doorstep, it is very difficult to even begin to imagine the crisis in East Africa where the worst drought in recent history is leaving communities on the verge of starvation.
Rainfall has failed for three successive seasons, meaning that thousands of families are now experiencing a shortage of food and water. The long lasting impacts of this crisis, from malnutrition and disease outbreaks will affect children the most.
As I broke my fast the other evening, I reached to my kitchen tap for drinking water and then suddenly thought, this is so easy for me but there are women and girls in East Africa forced to leave their homes just to get water who are then facing the threat of sexual abuse.
Across East Africa
Somalia is amongst the hardest hit by the drought. Currently, almost 90 per cent of the country’s districts (66 out of 74) have been struck by the drought, and approximately 4.3 million people are in desperate need.
In Ethiopia, the UN estimates there are now 13.6 million people in dire need of food aid. One of the worst areas to be hit is Borena. There, 69,000 livestock have died, cutting off livelihoods and provisions for thousands of people who have nowhere else to turn for food and income.
In Kenya, for the millions who depend largely on agriculture for income, more than 1.4 million cows, sheep, goats, and camels have already died, causing milk production to drop to less than half of normal levels.
Globally food prices have been rising for some months now, but the war in Ukraine has made the situation much worse causing significant drops in wheat exports from the country.
Islamic Relief has worked in East Africa for 15 years and working to respond to the current crisis. This includes providing much needed aid, food, water and cash transfers. We continue to support as many people as we can but we know that we can only reach so many.
As the situation worsens and the world’s attention continues to be spread across so many crises around the world, I fear that East Africa could become a forgotten humanitarian crisis. This Ramadan I have heard stories of people in Kenya who were fasting but, unable to break their fasts as they had no food, they simply carried on to the next day with nothing but water. This is heart breaking and collectively we must do more to help everyone.
You can join the appeal for East Africa from Islamic Relief UK here.