Somalia declares drought emergency as UN warns of looming famine

GOOBJOOG NEWS|MOGADISHU: Somalia has declared a state of emergency on the ongoing drought that has driven millions to the brink of starvation as the UN warns the country was edging closer to famine.

Addressing an extraordinary cabinet meeting Tuesday, Roble appealed for local and international response to attend to millions who are starving and stem the tide of a worsening humanitarian situation in the country.

“Our country is in a state of humanitarian emergency. I call upon all Somalis, business people, religious leaders, the diaspora and the international community to make concerted efforts to significantly contribute to mitigating the suffering of those affected by the drought,” said Roble.

UN Resident Humanitarian Coordinator Adam Abdelmoula also sounded the alarm bells noting the situation was fast slipping out of hand while calling for swift action.

“We must act now to prevent a slide into the crippling kind of drought and even famine conditions experienced in previous years” the UN official said.

According to the UN humanitarian agency, OCHA, an estimated 2.6 million people, which is nearly 22% of the population, are affected by drought and more than 100,000 have been recently uprooted from their homes as a result of the biting drought.

Deaths attributable to hunger have been reported in the Gedo region while mass displacements have taken place in Bay and Bakool, Mudug and Galgadud regions.

Somali government and UN said last week the number of people who need assistance and protection in Somalia is forecast to rise by 30 per cent from 5.9 million to about 7.7 million in 2022