The UK emergency response in the Horn of Africa

When the rains failed in the Horn of Africa in 2010-11, a chronic situation became a crisis affecting over 12 million people. This report looks at the effectiveness and value for money of the UK’s £200 million emergency response.

Score: Green/Amber
  1. Status: Completed
  2. Published: 14 September 2012
  3. Type: Other
  4. Subject: Humanitarian assistance
  5. Assessment: Green/Amber
  6. Location: Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia
  7. Lead commissioner: Mark Foster

Read the inception report

Read the terms of reference

Our approach

This review set out to assess the value for money and effectiveness of the Department for International Development’s (DFID) humanitarian emergency response in the Horn of Africa, from early warning to the transition to longer-term development.

We specifically focused on:

  • the linkage between early warning, early action and longer-term preventative interventions;
  • how intended beneficiaries’ needs were identified and how they were involved in programme design and implementation;
  • the effectiveness of supply chain management to meet these needs;
  • DFID’s role in leadership and co-ordination of aid and evidence of innovation;
  • how DFID applied learning from previous interventions in the Horn of Africa and other recent interventions; and
  • the extent to which resilience and sustainability are considered and built into the humanitarian response.

Timeline

Review publication

Published 14 September 2012

Government response

Published 22 May 2013

ICAI follow-up

Published 12 June 2014