Conflict, cyclical drought, floods, disease outbreaks, environmental degradation, rapid population growth, and limited government response capacity present significant challenges to vulnerable populations in the ECA region. Between FY 2006 and FY 2015, 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 emergencies, including flooding across the region, drought and food insecurity in the Horn of Africa, munitions explosions in RoC and Tanzania, post-election violence in Kenya, disease outbreaks in multiple countries, and complex emergencies in CAR, DRC, Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan, and Sudan.
From FY 2006 to FY 2015, USAID provided nearly $12.4 billion in assistance to crisis-affected populations in the ECA region. USAID/FFP contributed nearly $9.6 billion for food assistance in the form of U.S.-purchased food, locally and/or regionally procured food, cash transfers for food, food vouchers, and related activities. USAID/OFDA provided approximately $2.8 billion for agriculture and food security, economic recovery and market systems (ERMS), health, humanitarian coordination and information management, nutrition, protection, shelter and settlements, and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) assistance, as well as logistics support and the provision of relief commodities.
In the past 10 years, USAID has deployed six Disaster Assistance Response Teams (DARTs) to ECA, including in response to four complex emergencies in DRC, Kenya, Somalia, and South Sudan, and to two regional food security crises in the Horn of Africa. In addition, USAID has activated multiple Washington, D.C.-based Response Management Teams to support coordination and response efforts. To assist conflict- and disaster-affected populations, USAID supports the provision of food assistance, emergency relief supplies, basic services, and protection activities. Following periods of below-average agricultural yields, droughts, and floods, USAID programs aim to improve livestock health and crop production, strengthen management of acute malnutrition, support livelihoods activities, and improve WASH conditions.
Due to the recurring or persistent nature of many of the disasters in the ECA region, USAID/OFDA and USAID/FFP also support activities that increase the capacity of vulnerable communities to cope with future shocks. In collaboration with U.S. government, host country, and regional counterparts, USAID/OFDA works to strengthen agricultural livelihoods, address sanitation conditions and other environmental health concerns, and build disaster risk management capacity through trainings and support for early warning systems. USAID/FFP provides development food assistance to address the underlying causes of food insecurity and build communities’ resilience by reducing chronic malnutrition, improving agricultural productivity, and diversifying household income and assets.