Millions of Somalis face drought, famine
AS A SEVERE drought deepens in Somalia, the risk of famine is looming in the long-troubled country, with about half the population in need of some form of assistance, according to an assessment by UN agencies and humantarian partners.
The situation has become “significantly worse in the past six months”, explained Joseph Contreras, the spokesperson for the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (Unsom) on Monday.
“Currently, approximately 6.2 million Somalis are in need of humanitarian assistance; of that number, three million are in need or urgent life-saving measures. This is a significant step up from the 1.1 million Somalis who were in such circumstances, such need for life-saving measures in September,” he said.
In addition, the UN reports that nearly 950 000 children under the age of five will be acutely malnourished this year, with 185 000 of them at risk of death without immediate medical treatment.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres landed in Mogadishu yesterday in what he described as an urgent need to address an outbreak of cholera and severe drought ravaging the Horn of Africa nation.
Guterres called for a global response to stop deaths in Somalia, noting people were dying of hunger and cholera.
“Just arrived in Somalia on emergency visit to focus on famine and cholera. People are dying. The world must act now to stop this,” he said in a tweet.
The world’s top diplomat called for international support to provide humanitarian assistance to Somalia.
Guterres, who was due to hold talks with newly elected President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, said the current drought in Somalia required a “massive international response”.
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) this past Friday launched a $24.6 million appeal for the more than 1 million Somalis most affected by the drought.
“We named this drought ‘Odi Kawayn’, which is Somali for ‘something bigger than the elders’,” drought victim Halima told the agency, explaining that none of the elders has ever seen a drought as severe as this one.
IOM reports that wages are collapsing, local food prices are rising, animal deaths are increasing, and malnutrition rates are starting to rise. Without assistance, many people face malnutrition, significantly increased risk of disease, loss of livelihoods and even death.
Meanwhile, the UN Emergency Relief Co-ordinator, Stephen O’Brien, visited the Zone K Internal Displacement Camp Settlement located in the Hodan district of the Somali capital, Mogadishu.
“We understand their hunger, their thirst and their need to look after their children,” said O’Brien, noting that by seeing it for himself, “we can make this story known to a much bigger world and try to help”.