Adapting to the climate crisis will require everything from building sea walls to creating drought-resistant crops, a project that could cost developing countries anywhere from $160-$340 billion annually by 2030.
That number could swell to as much as $565 billion by 2050 if climate change accelerates, according to the UN Environment Programme’s (UNEP’s) 2022 Adaptation Gap Report.
And now, the World Health Organisation (WHO) is calling for emergency support for countries in the Horn of Africa, which according to the international health body, has close to 130,000 people staring at death due to hunger.
According to a food Insecurity Consultant at the WHO, Liesbeth Aelbrecht, the situation is worsening daily in the region’s seven countries including Kenya and Uganda, a situation last seen more than two decades ago.
Besides Kenya and Uganda, other notable countries affected by the catastrophe include Djibouti, Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan, and Sudan.
“Life-threatening hunger caused by climate shocks, violent insecurity and disease in the Horn of Africa, has left nearly 130,000 people “looking death in the eyes” and nearly 50 million facing crisis levels of food insecurity, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday.
For an emergency response, WHO says at least $179 million is needed in these seven states to tackle the looming crisis.
The UN says that the African continent contributes 2-3% of total global emissions that are associated with Climate Change, yet the continent suffers the heaviest impacts of the Climate Crisis.
The Horn of Africa is experiencing devastating weather conditions and the hottest temperatures since satellite record-keeping began.
Needs in the Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs) of Kenya continue to rise as the region faces its fifth consecutive below-average rainy season from October last year.
Humanitarian bodies estimate that there will be 6.4 million people in June in need of humanitarian assistance in the ASALs region of Kenya.
Besides the dry condition and famine, the greater Horn region is coupled with the grip of concurrent outbreaks of hepatitis, meningitis, and dengue, which was declared for the first time in Khartoum in February.
“The frequency of these disease outbreaks is directly linked to these extreme weather events and climate change,” the WHO officer said. “I’ve been working on and off in this region for almost 25 years now – and in terms of accumulated emergencies, this is bad as I’ve ever seen it.”
The report came against the backdrop of climate change and COP27 declarations/agreements last year when the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres unveiled a $3.1 billion plan to ensure everyone on the planet is protected by early warning systems in the next five years.
The final agreement highlighted that “$4 to $6 trillion a year needs to be invested in renewable energy until 2030 – including investments in technology and infrastructure – to allow the world to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.”
An array of states, regional governments, and development agencies pledged $230 million to the Adaptation Fund to help vulnerable communities around the world adapt to climate change.
