The Humphrey PACT (Practitioner - Assistant - Collaborative - Training) Program pairs undergraduate students in Global Development with Hubert H. Humphrey Fellows to work on a research endeavor in the fields of agriculture, rural development, and natural resource management. In this bilateral exchange, each undergrad is assigned as a research assistant, contributing to the Humphrey Fellow’s work from their home countries. Humphrey Fellows, who are mid-career professionals from around the world, gain support from students, while students get direct experiences with real-world development projects.
In this field note, Lydia Ngonzi (Humphrey Fellow from Uganda) and Jessica Pedro-Pascual ’26 (International Agriculture and Rural Development), confront the global drought crisis. Their comparative analysis explores the effects of the mega drought on the Horn of Africa, which is experiencing its worst drought in 40 years, and the Southwestern United States, where the mega drought is at its worst in 1200 years. Drawing on examples of U.S. policy, they propose interventions that could improve livelihoods and economic development in Eastern Africa.
In 2022, the Biden-Harris administration announced the White House Action Plan on Global Water Security, highlighting the administration’s plan to build resilience to worsening drought conditions due to climate change.
The Action Plan, which elevates water security as a “foreign policy priority” in the United States and abroad, was spot on: the catastrophic drought ravaging the Horn of Africa would not have happened without the human-induced impact of climate change.
Findings from the recently concluded study by the World Weather Attribution group of scientists confirm that aside from the lack of rainfall, higher temperatures driven by global warming have increased evaporation rates making soils and pastures in the region exceedingly dry. By a cautious calculation, climate change had made droughts, such as the current drought in the Horn of Africa, 100 times more likely to happen.
Findings from our comparative analysis of coping strategies to prolonged droughts show that the lack of commitment to strengthening proactive planning has perpetuated a system of reliance on humanitarian aid. This aid is not designed to respond to cyclical shocks, but rather the humanitarian crisis. A recent visit by Jill Biden to Kenya confirmed the flaws inherent in relying on humanitarian aid as a short-term fix for a prolonged drought problem – more and more people are in need, resources are limited, and the end of the drought is uncertain.
Prolonged droughts are not a new phenomenon in the Horn of Africa. Records show that since 2005 droughts in the region have become more pronounced, resulting in longer-term impacts. The current drought is the worst on record in the last 40 years, affecting over 50 million people and leaving 20 million at risk of famine.
