A Turkish ship carrying aid including rice and sugar has docked at Bossaso port on Thursday aimed at scaling up humanitarian assistance to drought-hit regions in Somalia where thousands of people including children are at risk of malnutrition.
According to Bari governor, Yusuf Mohamed Wacays the aid which was unloaded on Thursday, will be transported to different parts of Puntland state.
Turkey sent a ship carrying 11,000 tons of aid to Somalia in May.
The Turkish government spent more than $500 million in humanitarian and development aid to Somalia since 2011, making it the largest recipient of Turkish aid in Africa.
Turkey is a major ally for Somalia as it became the first foreign administrations to resume formal diplomatic relations with Somalia after the civil war.
The Turkish government also continues to undertake major projects in Somalia in a bid to jump-start the Somali economy shattered by the 2 decade-old conflict.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who visited Somalia’s capital in early June said that his government will send a ship carrying aid to Puntland and Somaliland.
Meanwhile, the United Nations said that the drought which largely hit Puntland and Somaliland compounded an already challenging humanitarian situation, affecting an estimated number of 385,000 people who face acute food insecurity, warning that a further 1.3 million people were at risk of slipping into acute food insecurity if they do not an urgent receive assistance.
