East Africa Children's Crisis - October 2018 Situation Report

• Internal conflicts on the increase: At least 9 million people have been displaced within their borders as a result of inter-communal conflict and violence. This has been most notable in parts of Ethiopia, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan. This makes conflict, the largest driver of displacement – with children often witnessing or experiencing horrific violence, exploitation and abuse.

• The impact of conflict on education: Often, learning for children is disrupted when they have to flee their homes. Displaced children who are for the most part on the move are paying the price of missing many months of schooling. In Ethiopia for example, World Vision estimates that 40,000 pre-primary and primary school children in West Guji alone missed at least five months of schooling due to the conflict.

• Number of people assisted: In October 2018, World Vision programmes assisted more than 1.8 million left vulnerable by a number of life disrupting disasters across South Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda and Tanzania.

• Sustained interest critical: World Vision is appealing for increased attention, particularly in the areas of return (reported in Ethiopia and South Sudan) in order to support returning families bounce back from the devastation of disasters and re-establish their livelihoods.

• Impact of underfunding: In September, the UN Refugee Agency warned that funding is falling increasingly behind as the number of forcibly displaced keeps growing. Burundi, South Sudan, Somalia and the Democratic Republic of the Congo constitute six of the most underfunded refugee and displacement situations.

For more information, read or download our October 2018 situation report.