No: The image doesn’t show a recent famine in the Horn of Africa.

An article about ongoing extreme food shortage and famine in the Horn of Africa countries such as  South Sudan, Somalia, and Ethiopia was published on a website. An image that shows famine-stricken infants was incorporated into the article.

Although there are reports of drought and famine in the Horn of Africa countries, HaqCheck confirmed that the image is decade-old and doesn’t show an ongoing situation in the region.

Countries in the Horn of Africa such as Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia are experiencing a severe drought caused due to shortages of rainfall. UN agencies have been warning that millions of people could encounter hunger if the drought extends for more time.

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) report published in April 2022, millions of people are facing extreme levels of hunger and malnutrition as a result of a food crisis due to ongoing conflicts, severe drought, locust plagues, and a shortfall in humanitarian funds.

OCHA stated that close to twenty million people in the region have been affected by the drought and at least seven million livestock died, 2.5 million livestock in Ethiopia alone.

Donors have also been pledging 1.39 billion dollars in funds for humanitarian and development response to the drought in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia.

The article is published in this context on the website regarding the ongoing food crisis in the Horn of Africa region.

The article on the website indicates that Vicky Ford, Minister for Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean wrote a letter responding to the correspondence of David Alton, a member of the House of the Lords of the United Kingdom, to the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office highlighting the current food shortages in the Horn of Africa.

The response letter from the State Minister to Lord David Alton was then published on a website that claims to belong to the latter. An image that shows starved infants seemingly stretching their hands for food was attached along with the letter on the website.

However, it is confirmed that the image doesn’t show an ongoing food shortage crisis in the Horn of African countries.

The image was found published on Flicker, an American image and video sharing online platform on 3 June 2009. But HaqCheck has not yet found where the image was taken from and when.

Therefore, HaqCheck rated the website post Misleading due to the usage of an image that doesn’t really depict the current situation in the given region.