International Cooperation Minister Bev Oda will be travelling to east Africa this week as the region suffers under a severe drought affecting over 10 million people.
Oda will be visiting the Dadaab refugee camps in Kenya and will meet with government officials and aid groups. Over 1,000 people are arriving daily at the refugee camps during the region's worst drought in more than half a century.
"The slow onset of the situation has now grown into a serious humanitarian crisis, and Canada will support the victims of the drought," Oda said in a statement Sunday.
"It is important that the most vulnerable, including women and children, who have faced near starvation and violence, get the help they need when they reach the refugee camps."
The drought has decimated the region's livestock and its fields – both the only source of income and food for many people.
Meanwhile, Oda's British counterpart said European countries must do more to help the region, which includes Kenya, Somalia, Ethiopia and other neighbouring countries.
"We have seen some derisory offers from rich European governments so far," International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell told reporters in Kenya.
He said the United Kingdom would donate $85 million to the region.
However, he did not mention Somalia in his speech. There have been multiple reports that donations to that country's government have gone unaccounted for.
Instead, donors are now working with established charities, instead of the government of Somalia.
Tony Lake, the head of the U.N. Children's Fund, says the situation is only going to get worse in the coming months, because there is no harvest to bring in.
"All of these people live on the edge in any case," he added.
Oda will also be visiting the newly-independent South Sudan on her trip.
"This is an opportunity for Canada to build a productive and positive relationship with South Sudan as a newly independent nation," Oda said. "I want to ensure that Canada's contribution to its future will be effective and help realize the outcomes its people have struggled for over the past decades."
