Ukraine to ship 28,600 tons of grain to famine-stricken Somalia

GOOBJOOG NEWS|KYIEV: Ukraine is set to ship 28,600 tons of grain to famine-stricken Somalia in the next few weeks, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on Twitter.

“Ukraine continues to save the world with its grain. In addition to previous ships with Ukraine grain for Africa, 28,600 tons of Ukraine wheat will arrive in Somalia in the coming weeks. In this country, due to the war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, the UN predicted a famine by the end of this year,” said Zelensky.

About 1 million people in Somalia are in danger of starving to death right now, with UNICEF announcing on Tuesday that hundreds of children have died in nutrition centres across Somalia.

The United Nations also sounded an alarm on Tuesday saying “famine is at the door” in Somalia with “concrete indications” famine will occur later this year in the southern Bay region. This falls just short of a formal famine declaration as thousands are dying in a historic drought made worse by the effects of the war in Ukraine.

On a visit to Somalia, U.N humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths told reporters he was “shocked to my core these past few days” when he saw starving babies too weak to cry.