UN ups Somalia aid appeal to $1.5b for 2022 as two million more sink into starvation

GOOBJOOG NEWS|NEW YORK: Somalia will need $1.5 billion in 2022 to provide life-saving food assistance to nearly half of the population, the UN has said noting the number of those in need of critical food assistance is expected to jump by 30% next year.

The 2022 Humanitarian Response Plan seeks 5.46 billion to assist 5.5 million of the most vulnerable people, the UN humanitarian agency, OCHA said during the launch of the appeal.

The 2022 appeal is up from $1.09 for 2021 whose funding fell short of target amid donor fatigue and competing global needs especially in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The UN Humanitarian Chief Martin Griffiths said he was releasing $17 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund and urged other donors to generously support the Somalia Humanitarian Fund to enable humanitarians to scale up critical operations in the country as the lives of millions in Somalia were on the line.

“To save lives in Somalia and avert another humanitarian catastrophe, we must release funding now so that people can protect themselves from further hunger and impoverishment,” said the UN Humanitarian Chief.

The UN and the HPR partners have estimated that 7.7 million Somalis will require humanitarian assistance and protection in 2022, marking a 30 per cent rise in needs in just one year and aims at prioritizing life-saving assistance for 5 million of the most vulnerable people, including 1 million children under 5.

According to a brief by FAO on Monday, Somalia is expected to experience a historic four-season drought by mid next year noting that would suppress critical food and income sources through mid-to-late 2022.

While food assistance is currently mitigating the severity of food insecurity, the scale of the population that needs assistance will likely outpace current and planned assistance levels, FAO said calling for scaled up food assistance.