In pictures: East Africa appeal

Kenya: The pastoralist communities of Turkana are experiencing the longest period of drought in their history. Many livestock are dying and families are now struggling to feed themselves, reliant on Oxfam food aid. Here, Ikai and her mother Ester Longlomoe walk home with some food rations given to them by friends.
Photo: Andy Hall

Ethiopia: pastoralists in Gobablay sit by a trench collecting the first rain. Oxfam is running 'cash-for-work' programmes, paying those worst affected by the drought to help build trenches, dams and other structures that protect and improve farmland, whilst also providing them with a steady income for weeks at a time.
Photo: Sophie McGrath

Somaliland: Severe shortages of food and water, along with spiralling food prices and the deaths of livestock, have plunged many families into destitution. Mother-of-four Khadija Acoil runs a teashop: “I have fewer customers than before and I make less money. I used to open all day every day, but now sometimes I have to close the shop because I have no ingredients or no customers.”
Photo: Alun McDonald

Kenya: Goats drinking from an Oxfam-funded borehole in Dilmanyale village, Wajir. Many people have moved here because it’s the only source of clean water in the area.
Photo: Anna Ridout

Somaliland: Mother-of-five Khadra Suleiman lives in Ali Hussein camp. "A few months ago when I went to the market I would buy 1kg of rice, but now I usually only have enough money for half a kilo. My children eat far fewer vegetables. They used to eat four times a day – breakfast, lunch, dinner and a mid-morning snack at 10am. Now they only get two – just breakfast and lunch. In the evening we do not eat."
Photo: Alun McDonald

With rains having failed for successive seasons, families across Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya are struggling to find anything to eat or drink. Here, people come to collect their food rations at an Oxfam food distribution centre in Turkana, Kenya.
Photo: Andy Hall

Somaliland: Water trucks prepare to set off from Burao, the regional capital, to take clean water to the surrounding villages where other sources of water have dried up. Oxfam engineers are also repairing boreholes and shallow wells in areas where there is some available water.
Photo: Alun McDonald

Somaliland: After nearly 11 months without a drop of rain, all of Waridaad village’s traditional water sources dried up. Oxfam partners Havyoco have been trucking in clean water every day. The water is pumped into these community tanks, from where each family queues up to fill their jerrycans.
Photo: Alun McDonald

Villagers gather at the Oxfam water collection point in Kachoda, in Kenya's Turkana region. Oxfam is providing communities with a supply of clean water by constructing and repairing dozens of boreholes and wells.
Photo: Andy Hall

Somaliland: Faadomo Hirsi and her grandson wheel their daily allowance of two 20-litre jerrycans of water back to their house. “These two cans last us one day – we use the water for cooking, drinking, washing and the animals. I used to have 20 goats, but now there are only five left and even those are very weak. 15 died in the past month. I have to give some of the water to the goats to keep them alive – there is no other place they can get it."
Photo: Alun McDonald

Hawa Abdulayi is from Hindeysa, a remote community in Somali region of eastern Ethiopia badly affected by drought. Households run by women tend to be poorer and have fewer animals meaning that drought can hit them especially hard. "I only had 20 sheep and goats, and [the drought] has killed ten," Hawa explains. Oxfam has been building a borehole with Hawa's community to bring them a reliable source of water.
Photo: Sophie McGrath

Dadaab refugee camp, Kenya: Oxfam health workers prepare to distribute 7,000 jerry cans and bars of soap to newly arrived refugees who have walked for many days across the desert from Somalia. The camp is severely overcrowded and clean water is scarce. Without sanitised jerry cans to store the water, it can quickly become contaminated and risk spreading disease. The soap helps to improve sanitation and reduces the risk of potentially fatal illnesses such as diarrhoea, especially among children.
Photo: Andy Hall