NAIROBI, Kenya (OSV News) -- As Lent begins, Catholic leaders across Eastern Africa are urging prayers -- and action -- for millions facing a deepening drought crisis.
Church officials say 20 million to 25 million people in Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia need humanitarian aid as failed rains, intensified by La Niña and other climate factors, devastate the region. Livestock have died, wells are drying up and herding communities are on the move, raising fears of conflict.
Bishop Peter Kihara Kariuki of Marsabit, Kenya, has warned against severe drought conditions in his diocese since December, while highlighting the urgent need for food aid, after years of failed rains or no rains at all for extended periods of time.
"It is a very, very dire situation," said Bishop Kariuki, adding that even the wells and boreholes were drying up.
According to the bishop, in north and northeastern Kenya and the larger Horn of Africa, livestock are people's main source of livelihood. When they die, "people are left with nothing," said the bishop.
In Ethiopia, Cardinal Berhaneyesus Deremew Souraphiel of Addis Ababa, called for the protection against man-made and natural disasters in a Lenten message that also urged justice and peace.
"May our prayer extend beyond personal intentions to embrace our neighbors, those suffering from war and displacement, troubled souls, the imprisoned, and all who carry heavy burdens," Cardinal Souraphiel wrote in his Feb. 16 appeal.
"Let us pray for our leaders to govern with wisdom and integrity, for protection from man-made and natural disasters, and for peace and justice throughout our nation and the entire world," said the cardinal, whose country is facing a severe drought in south and southeastern regions.
He also extended "heartfelt wishes for a peaceful and grace-filled journey" of Lent.
Agencies warn that millions of people in Ethiopia will face acute food insecurity in 2026, as conflict, climate shocks and aid cuts are pushing the country into a crisis, according to the International Rescue Committee, or IRC. Renewed violence and displacement are driving hunger and child malnutrition.
In December, the Famine Early Warning Systems Network -- a leading provider of early warning and analysis on acute food insecurity around the world, said 20 million to 25 million people in Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia are in need of humanitarian assistance mainly due to the drought.
Cycles of climate change-related droughts are a recurrent experience in the Horn of Africa. Only the nation of Ethiopia is still reeling from a multiyear drought that affected 30 million people between 2020-2023, IRC said.
The Kenyan government said currently 3.3 million people are affected.
"The rains have failed for yet another time. This is becoming too frequent. My fear is this may become a permanent situation," said Mwende Muli, a Catholic and a small farmer in Eastern Kenya. "We eat what we grow and sell the surplus to generate some financial income. I am afraid the droughts are wiping out these," she told OSV News.
With 10 of Kenya's counties reaching a crisis stage, government officials said various government agencies were delivering food and animal feed, while trucking water for people and livestock.
But the concern of the country's Church leaders is the misuse of relief aid by politicians and government officials. In the past, such aid has been sold or delivered in some leaders' strongholds.
The Catholic Church is working to deliver humanitarian assistance to the most affected communities.
In central Kenya, Archbishop Anthony Muheria of Nyeri called for urgent interventions against the drought, while warning government leaders and politicians against turning it into a political tool or weapon to win support.
The prelate spoke in Matanya, Laikipia County, on Feb. 15, as millions in semi-arid and arid areas experience serious food and water shortages, and deaths of livestock.
"We must not play the politics of drought … we must not weaponize the drought," the archbishop was quoted in various news reports as saying. He urged for unity and cooperation to save lives and livelihoods.
