Somalia declares drought a national disaster, appeals for support

President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo has declared the ongoing drought a national disaster disaster and called for enhanced response internationally and locally.

President Farmaajo said the Horn of Africa nation has been affected by severe drought which is ravaging the eastern and Horn of Africa regions.

“The president appeals to The International Community to urgently respond to the calamity in order to help families and individuals to recover from the effects of drought disaster and to avoid humanitarian tragedy,” read a statement from the Presidency Tuesday.

The statement follows a high level partnership meeting on emergency drought response bringing together the country’s leadership and representatives of the international community.

The president called on Somalis spread across the world to do everything to aid their brothers and sisters suffering from severe drought.

“The president is also kindly calling on the Somali business community and Diaspora to participate in the recovery operations efforts in the affected area with the aim to mitigate the impact of drought nationwide,” reads the statement.

Some 1.5 million people are believed to be affected by the severe drought and worsening food crisis. More than 400,000 of those people are malnourished children.

UN World Health Organization’s (WHO) said in a statement Monday less than half of the people in Somalia have access to basic health services.

“Somalia is now at a critical point as a result of this drought and environmental hazards and lack of basic services,” said WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, Dr. Mahmoud Fikri.

The UN agency said that it is providing “all possible support” to address the ongoing challenges. That includes sending medicines and medical supplies to health facilities in drought-affected areas.