In pictures: Voices of the people affected by drought Somali Region

Maryama came to the center with her daughter and grandson, Faris. The family had been in dire economic hardship after they lost their livestock to the drought, which followed with lack of food for the household.

When her grandson began coughing, had diarrhea and weight loss, the community in her neighborhood raised money to help send the family to the treatment center at Jigjiga Town.

Here is Faris with his mother. He has suffered from malnutrition.

Faris has been in the hospital for three days already spending most of his time gazing at his mother and grandmother with sad eyes.

He has been under the close monitoring and care of doctors and nutritionists. Maryama’s eyes brim with tears as she holds her son for treatment. “I hope these treatments will restore my grandson to his old cheerful and vibrant self,” she says.

Ayana Abdi Serage, nutritionist at Karamara Hospital Stabilization Center, is monitoring and documenting Faris’ milk intake, his progress and overall well-being.

The doctors continue to monitor and examine Faris’s health status as well as other children under their care. For Faris, they have ordered antibiotics to manage his severe malnutrition with medical complication.

“The center has received ten children in the stabilization rooms.” Said Nurse Anisa DhiAbide. Since the center has limited space, they are concerned about additional intakes.

The medicine that they use for treatment of the children under their care is provided by WHO. In addition, WHO has been providing them training to provide care for children with severe malnutrition children.

Here is the Medical Director of the Karamara Hospital. According to the director, they used to follow a practice of rotating health workers every month to different wards because of shortage of trained workforce. But after the training by WHO, they decided to assign medical staff in the same ward for a minimum of three months for continued follow-up and support. They believe this has helped to improve recovery rate and decrease deaths in the centre.

This is the mobile health and nutrition team that moves among the displaced communities to provide health care services right at their settlement sites. The communities are aware of the team’s operating schedule and wait for them under tree sheds to receive health services.

Mobile Health Team member, Ahmed is following up the progress of a woman he had treated the previous week, prescribing medicines and explaining how the medication is used.

Another mobile health and nutrition team member is screening children and providing nutritious supplementary foods under the shade of one of the few trees in the drought-stricken area.

The people are pleased with the availability of such services within their locality.

Mr Mohammud Mohammed, Deputy Head of Somali Regional Health Bureau underscores the need for more mobile health teams since the communities are pastoralists. He says, “The provision of mobile health services is critical for these communities. As people leave their homes in search of food, they can no longer access health services and the risk of disease outbreaks increases.”

The pastoralists don't normally settle in one place. This is even worsened now as the result of the drought, and they have to travel to remote locations in search water and grazing land for their livestock. Mr Mohammud adds that the regional health bureau appreciates WHO’s support to the health bureau’s health provision efforts, and for prepositioning cholera treatment kits as cross-border movement is very high in the region, bringing with it the risk of disease transmission.

This is Halima Babyad, WHO nutrition officer in Somali Region, based in Jigjiga. She travels across the region providing technical support to the nutritionists in health facilities and mobile health teams.

WHO works with other humanitarian organizations to facilitate coordination and collaboration with health partners to ensure health service provision to the affected communities. With the support of EU Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid, WHO is able to provide critical health services, and supported the response to drought.

Ethiopia is experiencing one of the most severe La Niña-induced droughts in the last decade following three consecutive failed rainy seasons since late 2020. The prolonged drought in southern and southeastern regions of Ethiopia is compromising fragile livelihoods heavily reliant on livestock and deepening food insecurity and malnutrition, increasing risks of disease outbreaks, while eroding coping capacities for the most vulnerable.

More than 8 million pastoralist and agro-pastoralist communities in Oromia, SNNP, Somali and South-West regions are currently affected by the drought, and more than 1.5 million livestock have died.