Expressing concern for the drought and endemic food insecurity plaguing the Horn of Africa and calling for greater humanitarian and agricultural assistance to the region.

Whereas, in the Horn of Africa, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia are undergoing the worst drought in 40 years and one of the greatest food insecurity emergencies in the 21st century after four consecutive seasons with below average rainfall; Whereas the drought in the Horn of Africa has caused widespread livestock deaths, rampant crop failures, and rising food prices, which have exacerbated gender-based violence and maternal mortality, and led to societal disruptions like families fleeing their homes and radically declining school attendance; Whereas, according to the World Food Programme and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, approximately 7,200,000 people in south and southeastern Ethiopia are severely food insecure as a result of the drought; the number of Kenyans needing food aid has quadrupled in under 2 years with 3,500,000 now facing hunger; and in the upcoming months, there is a serious risk of widespread famine in Somalia, where nearly 6,000,000 are experiencing acute food insecurity and over 81,000 are already facing famine conditions; Whereas the World Food Programme estimates that the ongoing drought in the Horn of Africa places up to 20,000,000 people at risk of starvation through 2022 without humanitarian intervention, and the World Food Programme has therefore called for swift increases in support from world partners due to shortages in food aid; Whereas the nations of the Horn of Africa were able to persevere through the drought of 2016 and 2017 due to the early scaling-up of aid, but amidst other competing humanitarian crises globally, the existing supply of food assistance is insufficient to prevent starvation during the present hunger emergency in the Horn of Africa, where food assistance needs are over 70 percent higher than the 2016 to 2017 drought according to the Famine Early Warning Systems Network; Whereas, in addition to the compounding challenges of four consecutive seasons of failed rains, recent global supply chain complications along with high fertilizer and crude oil prices—due in part to the COVID–19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine—have raised food prices, worsened acute hunger, and diminished capacities to deliver aid to the Horn of Africa; Whereas the United States is the largest bilateral donor of international food assistance among world nations, and like other Sahel and sub-Saharan states, countries in the Horn of Africa have been among the greatest recipients of direct United States food aid in recent years; and Whereas this mounting crisis in the Horn of Africa requires global attention and a shared commitment to foreign assistance—both urgent humanitarian assistance and long-term agricultural development aid—to avert thousands of deaths: Now, therefore, be it That the House of Representatives— (1) expresses deep concern for the latest years-long drought in the Horn of Africa and the ensuing food security crisis and severe socioeconomic disturbances it caused; (2) acknowledges the role that climate change plays in increasing the frequency of extreme weather events like droughts, and pledges to take coordinated, international action to adapt to and avert further global warming; (3) reaffirms the effectiveness and instrumentality of United States international food assistance for meeting humanitarian obligations, cultivating enduring self-reliance in developing nations, ensuring the stability of global financial markets, and mitigating the likelihood of conflict in accordance with our national security interests; (4) emphasizes the importance of funding urgently needed humanitarian assistance for hunger-stricken regions of the world, supporting the development of sustainable agricultural sectors in developing nations, and assisting with the international resettlement of refugees escaping droughts and extreme hunger; and (5) urges the Biden administration, the Department of State, and the United States Agency for International Development to immediately offer technical and material assistance, as appropriate and to the extent allowable under Federal law and congressional appropriations, to support affected East African nations, international organizations, and nongovernmental organizations in their efforts to alleviate hunger and deliver food aid to communities impacted by the drought in the Horn of Africa.

Summary: This resolution expresses that the House of Representatives is deeply concerned for the latest years-long drought in the Horn of Africa and the ensuing food security crisis and severe socioeconomic disturbances it caused; acknowledges the role that climate change plays in increasing the frequency of extreme weather events like droughts, and pledges to take coordinated, international action to adapt to and avert further global warming; reaffirms the effectiveness and instrumentality of U.S. international food assistance for meeting humanitarian obligations, cultivating enduring self-reliance in developing nations, ensuring the stability of global financial markets, and mitigating the likelihood of conflict in accordance with our national security interests; and emphasizes the importance of funding urgently needed humanitarian assistance for hunger-stricken regions of the world, supporting the development of sustainable agricultural sectors in developing nations, and assisting with the international resettlement of refugees escaping droughts and extreme hunger.