Somali leader appeals for aid amid severe drought

Somali President Hassan Sheik Mohamud has appealed to the international community to provide humanitarian assistance to people affected by severe drought which is ravaging the Horn of Africa nation.

President Mohamud said several parts of Somalia have been affected by drought especially in regions in northern Somalia.

“I appeal to the international community to immediately come to the aid of the Somali people in the affected areas before the situation gets worsened, it is time that aid is delivered very urgently in particular drought stricken areas of the country,” Mohamud said in a statement received on Sunday.

His statement comes after the UN said in September the total number of people facing acute food insecurity across Somalia has risen to five million, or more than 40 percent of the country’s population does not have sufficient food.

The assessment report released in Mogadishu reveals the number includes over 300,000 children under five who are acutely malnourished, including more than 50,000 children who are severely malnourished and more vulnerable than any other group.

The president said the drought has widely affected the country, worsening in some areas and called on Somalis spread across the world to do everything to aid their brothers and sisters suffering from severe drought.

Xinhua