The number of people at risk of starvation now stands at more than 11 million.

The United Nations has declared a famine in parts of South Sudan, the first to be announced anywhere in the world in six years.

Conflict and drought in the Horn of Africa (where the image below was taken in 2016) and South Sudan are generating a humanitarian crisis of alarming proportions.

Reports emerging from the region indicate this crisis is set to become worse than the last famine in 2011.

Islamic Relief CEO Naser Haghamed said: “The situation in South Sudan has literally become a matter of life and death.”

“Life is becoming more and more unbearable with widespread hunger sweeping the region.”

“We must act quickly and ask our supporters to donate generously so that we can reach those in desperate need of food assistance.”

This mother-of-four says she can feed her children for only the next five days.

As many as 100,000 people in South Sudan are facing starvation with a further one million classified as being on the brink of famine.

The Horn of Africa which includes Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia has been hit by months-long drought. Somalia’s hospitals are seeing children with severe dehydration whilst in Kenya the government has declared a national emergency.

Islamic Relief is already on the ground in Ethiopia (where the picture below shows people waiting for a water distribution), Kenya, Somalia and South Sudan responding to the impact of the conflict and drought.

Last year we delivered a project in Somalia which saw the distribution of emergency food supplies, medicine and the provision and restocking of animals which the population rely on heavily for milk and meat.

More recently, we implemented water trucking initiatives and provided food aid in Ethiopia in response to climatic changes. In Kenya, we implemented a £1 million programme which increased the resilience of households to drought.

We are pushing for long-term solutions in Somalia to break the repetitive cycle of drought and floods, delivering a $5 million borehole project to provide 36 sustainable water supplies across the region and installing underground tanks to store rainwater that currently runs wasted into the Red Sea.

Source: Islamic Relief Worldwide (IRW)

According to UNHCR, over 131,000 South Sudanese refugees arrived in Sudan in 2016, the highest number of arrivals per year.

Violence, food insecurity, malnutrition, and lack of access to basic services have caused large-scale internal displacement.

During January, IR Sudan in Central Darfur has been undertaking WASH projects and distributing hygiene kits (a total of 1350). In addition, Jerry-can cleaning campaigns were conducted and 2000 Jerry-cans were cleaned.

In West Kordofan, IR Sudan has opened a new outreach office in El Mairam town and have been conducted water assessment surveys.

Two water yards have been identified for rehabilitation

Registration and verification of South Sudanese refugees inside El Mairam has started in coordination with local authorities.

Consecutive, below average rainy seasons have caused severe drought across northern, eastern and central Ethiopia.

The drought has led to high levels of food insecurity and increased rates of malnutrition. According to the latest figures from ACAPS, 5.6 million people in the country are in need of food assistance, 9.2 million lack access to safe water, and 420,000 children are suffering with Severe Acute Malnutrition.

Our Team #OnTheGround, is continuing the implementation of water trucking in 23 villages in Afder zone. As of today, our on-going WASH project supporting the three districts of Hargelle, Chereti and Elkeri has now distributed water to 29,186 beneficiaries.

You can help by donating to our Water For Life Fund NOW goo.gl/f8zkwL

#LiveUpdate #EndWaterPoverty

The annual list is compiled by NGO Advisor, an independent media organization committed to highlighting innovation, impact and governance in the non-profit sector.

The Geneva, Switzerland-based organization said that each rating is allocated by a combination of “evidence-based quantitative analysis with thorough qualitative research”.

In a statement, NGO Advisor said: “Known as the Ivy League of the non-profit world, the Top 500 ranks NGOs in order to showcase the best practices and newest ideas in the sector. The NGOs in this year’s ranking are more influential, more powerful, and more innovative than ever before.”

Islamic Relief was rated in three main areas around its impact, innovation and governance in the categories of Children and Youth; Economic Empowerment; Emergency – Crisis, Refugees, Shelter; and Social Justice. The humanitarian aid charity is up six places from its previous rating of 26th place.

Imran Madden, UK Director of Islamic Relief, said:

“This is a tremendous achievement and a tribute to all of the hard work of our staff and volunteers around the world. We work in 40 countries worldwide providing assistance to whoever needs us, regardless of race, religion or gender, in line with Islamic teachings on the value of every human life.
“When we started 33 years ago we worked in disaster and emergency relief, but over the years we have expanded into sustainable development work to provide water, food, shelter, healthcare and education to help people get jobs, create businesses and support their families and communities.”

The only other UK-based organizations in the Top 20 NGOs are Oxfam (7) and Save the Children (11).

Posted in: Latest News, Press Release on Tuesday, 31 Jan, 2017

Source: Islamic Relief UK