GLOBAL HUMANITARIAN ORGANIZATION ALIGHT LAUNCHES DROUGHT RELIEF RESPONSE IN HORN OF AFRICA

Alight Responds With Smart Water Aid as Severe Drought Threatens Famine in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia

MINNEAPOLIS, July 5, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- As The Horn of Africa experiences one of its most severe droughts in recent history, with famine looming, global humanitarian organization, Alight has announced a three-country response, sending teams along the Kenyan-Ethiopian-Somali border to help communities mitigate the impact of severe drought and introduce 'smart water' techniques to individual families.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) estimates that between 15-16 million people are waking each day to high levels of food insecurity and rising malnutrition. About 5.7 million children are acutely malnourished, with numbers expected to rise if rains fail in the coming weeks.

"Families are taking desperate measures to survive, with thousands leaving their homes in search of food, water, and pasture, increasing the risk of conflict and putting more pressure on already-limited basic services," says Alight CEO, Jocelyn Wyatt. "Establishing a 'smart water' approach in the region will help to relieve some of that risk while working with the community to not only produce vital streams of water, but educate them on how to continue the process on their own, setting them up for future needs."

The 'smart water' approach involves establishing a roofed water catchment system, along with drinking water access through reinforced concrete high-rise water tanks, tap stands, wash pads (where people can wash clothes and linens) and livestock troughs. Alight will also help families set up kitchen gardens (small plots of family property) as well as training for drip irrigation.

Alight's intervention will also provide immediate access to safe water for about 6,200 drought-affected households in the region. Along with emergency water trucking and fuel subsidies for boreholes, teams will rehabilitate shallow wells, construct water kiosks and animal troughs, and promote best-practices for hygiene in schools, a critical piece when water shortages are prevalent.

Alight plans to replicate and scale these efforts to reach people throughout the entire region. For more information on Alight's efforts and ways to donate, please visit wearealight.org or click here.

In commemoration of World Refugee Day 2022, Alight hosted an in-depth discussion with Refugee and Migration Expert and Climate Refugees Founder/Executive Director Amali Tower addressing the major impact climate change has on displacement and how it directly affects the communities in which Alight serves. To watch the discussion, please click here.

Established in 1978 by founder Neal Ball, Alight, formerly known as American Refugee Committee, provides health care, clean water, shelter, protection and economic opportunities to more than 3.5 million people in over 20 countries each year. Alight believes in the incredible creativity, potential and ingenuity of the displaced and works to shine a light on their humanity, the tremendous amount of good that's already happening and the possibilities to do more. In 2021, Alight received the prestigious 4-Star Rating from Charity Navigator for the eleventh consecutive year, celebrating more than a decade of impactful work.

SOURCE Alight