The United Nations (UN) agencies on Tuesday warned millions of people in Somalia are at risk of facing famine, with young children the most at risk, reported CGTN Africa.
In a joint press release on Tuesday, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the UN World Food Programme (WFP), the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said the new Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report that found six million Somalis or about forty percent of the population, are facing extreme levels of food insecurity reflects a rapid deterioration of the humanitarian situation in the country.
Notably, Somalia is one of the countries which is most vulnerable to climate change and has been facing a drought and poor rainfall projections, with the failure of the April-June 2022 rainy season also projected to be below average.
The Horn of African country has already seen three failed rainy seasons. It is currently facing its worst drought in a decade, with Juba, the country’s largest river, almost totally dried up.
“A perfect storm of poor rain, skyrocketing food prices, and huge funding shortfalls leaves almost 40% of Somalis on the brink,” the UN agencies said in a press statement.
The current drought has led to poor crop harvests and loss of livestock due to a lack of water and pasture.
The agencies have called for immediate funding for the country.
Adam Abdelmoula from the OCHA warned that many more lives and livelihoods are bound to be lost in case of further funding delays.
Last month, the UN attributed Somalia’s deteriorating humanitarian situation to decades of conflict, recurrent climate shocks, and disease outbreaks, including the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2011, about 260,000 people, half of them children under the age of six, lost their lives due to hunger or hunger-related disorders in Somalia.
