U.S. injects additional $151 million to scale up drought response in Somalia 

GOOBJOOG NEWS|MOGADISHU: The United States, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), has announced a package of more than $151 million in new, urgently needed aid to the people of Somalia.

The U.S. agency has said $146.5 million of the total amount has been allocated for food aid, while the remaining nearly $5 million in humanitarian assistance has been set aside to provide support for disaster resilience, economic recovery, and market systems activities.

According to USAID Somalia, the new funding is in addition to previous funding in July, totaling $476 million in humanitarian aid, bringing the U.S. government’s contribution to more than $870 million for the people of Somalia—representing more than half of all humanitarian funding for Somalia in 2022.

“USAID’s critical assistance comes in response to an expert Famine Review Committee’s projection that famine is likely to occur in the Buur Hakaba and Baidoa districts of southern Somalia this year unless an urgent increase in humanitarian assistance reaches people most in need,” read part of the statement by USAID.

“Today’s announcement will allow USAID partner, the World Food Program (WFP), to provide an additional two and a half months’ worth of emergency food assistance for 3.6 million people.” “USAID will provide cash and vouchers for Somalis to purchase food from local markets, both supporting the local economy and ensuring families facing starvation get what they need.”

As the drought situation in Somalia continues to spiral steeply downward, the United States government has called upon the international donor community to act immediately to scale up humanitarian funding for the Somali people to prevent the famine projection from becoming reality.