Drought in the Horn of Africa
An acacia tree stands amid a sandstorm on the road between Marsabit and the border town of Moyale, near the Kenya-Ethiopia border. November 2022.
A herder walks his goats across a drought-stricken landscape in Garba Tula, Isiolo County, northern Kenya, where most residents rely on livestock for survival. November 2022.
Hamdi, 37, fled her town in Galmudug, Somalia, after her husband was killed fighting Al-Shabaab. Fearing for her children's safety amid drought and conflict, she arrived the previous day at Ladan, an informal settlement in Dollow, where she sleeps on the floor while waiting for a plot to set up a makeshift shelter.
Aerial view of a dry river near Garowe, Puntland, reflecting Somalia's worst drought in decades after four consecutive failed rainy seasons. Boreholes and shallow wells are drying up nationwide, and rivers lack sufficient water to meet the population's needs.
Abshiro, 27, sits in her makeshift shelter at the Ladan displacement site in Dollow, where she arrived seven months before. "My brother has a disability, and we haven’t received any assistance," she said. "We were farmers in Ethiopia but lost everything to drought and conflict.”
The loss of at least 3.5 million livestock in Somalia has triggered a humanitarian crisis that has displaced an estimated 1.4 million people. Many rural Somalis depend on their animals for food.
Aerial view of a displacement site in Dollow, where tens of thousands of people have arrived from Somalia and Ethiopia fleeing drought and conflict.
A young boy walks to fetch water from a nearby reservoir in the Ladan displacement site in Dollow.
Women collect water from an emergency truck in Qansaxley, Dollow. Many rural communities and displaced persons in Somalia rely on water trucks for clean water access as boreholes and rivers have dried up after the historic 2021/2022 drought.
Women and children collect water from a temporary reservoir in the Ladan displacement site in Dollow early in the morning. A humanitarian agency replenishes the tank daily to ensure families have access to safe water.
Water truck distributions have become a lifeline for thousands, heavily dependent on funding from international actors, including governments, diaspora groups, and NGOs.
Decades of conflict and a fragile governance system have further strained Somalia's water systems, making them scarce or poorly managed.
A mother and her son, recently displaced from Guriel, sit on mats early in the morning in Ladan, a site for the displaced in Dollow. Many newcomers sleep in the open for days upon arrival at the informal settlements, waiting for assistance or to gather materials to build makeshift shelters.
Salado, 55, poses for a portrait while building her shelter in the Kaxareey displacement site in Dollow. She and her family left their village in the Gedo region after losing all their livestock to drought.
A woman cuts tree branches to build her shelter in the Kaxareey displacement site on the outskirts of Dollow. Displaced persons live in precarious shelters constructed from locally available materials like tree branches, fabrics, and tarps.
A woman constructs a shelter in the Kaxareey displacement site in Dollow.
“I left my husband behind and came to this settlement with some relatives. Our livestock died, we ran out of water, and we couldn't find anything to eat,” said Nimo from her makeshift shelter in Dollow.
A woman walks in Ladan, a site for displaced persons in Dollow, Somalia.
Women and children in a displacement site in Dollow line up to speak with an aid worker.
The living conditions inside one of the makeshift shelters found in the displacement site of Ladan, Dolow.
Water containers are piled up next to a temporary water source in the Qaxarey displacement site in Dollow.
Food prices have skyrocketed since the water crisis began. In Kabasa's Women Market in Dollow, women business owners struggle to make ends meet, reducing their inventory to prevent further losses.
Dainabo holds her 22-month-old baby in Dollow's stabilization center, the only facility in the region treating children with severe acute malnutrition.
Habibo holds her grandson Alamin, severely malnourished, in Dollow´s stabilization centre. The centre is the only facility in the region treating children suffering from severe actue malnutrition.
Gobobqa, a displacement site in the outskirts of Burao, Somaliland, hosting over 1,000 people who were mostly displaced due to drought between 2017 and 2022.
Gobobqa, a displacement site in the outskirts of Burao, Somaliland, hosting over 1,000 people who were mostly displaced due to drought between 2017 and 2022.
Asha Mouwlid, 20, nine months pregnant, has been in Ladan for 11 months after fleeing drought and hunger in Ethiopia.
To improve shelter conditions in the Ladan displacement site, IOM contracted 200 local residents to help upgrade both their own and their neighbors' shelters. June 2023
To improve shelter conditions in the Ladan displacement site, IOM contracted 200 local residents to help upgrade both their own and their neighbors' shelters. June 2023
To improve shelter conditions in the Ladan displacement site, IOM contracted 200 local residents to help upgrade both their own and their neighbors' shelters. June 2023
Hawa Hassan and her children, who arrived in Ladan a year ago fleeing drought from Guriel, were among the households that received shelter upgrades. June 2023
Simaneh Sahl, originally from Ethiopia, sought refuge in the displacement site of Ladan after a severe drought killed all his livestock. He is now contracted by IOM to help upgrading shelters. June 2023
Simaneh Sahl inside her new upgraded shelter in Ladan, Dollow. June 2023.
Somalia’s extreme drought
2021 - 2023
Between 2021 and 2023, Somalia and northern parts of Kenya experienced their worst drought in recent history, driving food insecurity for millions and intensifying a decades-long conflict over natural resources.
The unprecedented climatic crisis forced over one million people to leave their homes as the land could no longer provide adequate resources and their livestock succumbed to hunger. These newly displaced populations sought refuge in overcrowded urban settlements throughout the country, where they hoped to access aid and find alternative means of survival.
These photographs were taken over two years in Somalia and Kenya’s hardest-hit areas while working as a Communications Officer the International Organization for Migration (IOM). They contributed to document the harsh reality faced by tens of thousands of women, men, and children as they confronted the dire consequences of climate change.
Extreme weather events became increasingly frequent and intense in the Horn of Africa, disrupting the lives of a population that primarily relied on agriculture and livestock. With little time to recover between these shocks, many people have been forced into informal settlements in major cities and towns. These makeshift communities have became a last refuge for millions witnessing the disappearance of their traditional lifestyles as the impacts of global warming intensify.
