NAIROBI, Sept. 27 (Xinhua) -- A senior United Nations official has called for pooled resources to address the deepening crisis in the Horn of Africa and the impending threat of El Nino.
Rein Paulsen, director of the Office of Emergencies and Resilience at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, said on Friday that while regional governments have prepared response plans, a severe funding shortfall threatens implementation.
"Plans are in place, and actions are already being taken, but we need more financing and support to deliver," Paulsen told journalists in Kenya's capital of Nairobi following a fact-finding mission to Sudan.
Of the 193 million U.S. dollars sought for FAO's Sudan emergency and resilience portfolio under its 2026-2028 Emergency Response Plan, only 44.1 million dollars has been received, Paulsen said.
Paulsen urged stakeholders not to view El Nino in isolation, but rather alongside ongoing conflicts and rising food prices across the region.
To help mitigate risks, he said that FAO and the World Food Program launched a joint anticipatory action plan on June 18 covering 22 priority countries in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, and Latin America and the Caribbean.
He said the El Nino anticipatory action appeal seeks 202 million dollars to protect 8.8 million vulnerable people across 22 high-risk countries from extreme weather driven by El Nino.
"It is always more expensive to respond to a crisis than to mitigate its impact in advance," Paulsen emphasized, calling on governments, humanitarian agencies, and development partners to prioritize monitoring and early action.
He added that FAO is actively supporting Sudanese farmers by introducing drought-resistant seed varieties tailored to locally suitable climate zones, expanding irrigation to reduce dependence on rain-fed agriculture, launching nationwide livestock vaccination campaigns, and securing livestock feed and water supplies in building long-term resilience.
The World Meteorological Organization said in its latest update that El Nino is expected to strengthen to a very strong event, peaking towards the end of 2026, with a nearly 100 percent likelihood of persisting through February 2027. ■