World must act fast, scale up life-saving assistance in drought

An assessment by United Nations agencies and humanitarian partners has said that as a severe drought deepens in Somalia, the risk of famine is looming in the long-troubled country, with about half the population in need of some form of assistance.

In this regard, Joseph Contreras, the spokesperson for the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia, UNSOM, said that the situation has become "significantly worse in the last six months".

"Currently, approximately 6.2 million Somalis are in need of humanitarian assistance, of that number, three million are in need or urgent life saving measures. This is a significant step up from the 1.1 million Somalis that were in such circumstances, such need for life saving measures, in September," he said.

In addition, the UN reports that nearly 950,000 children under the age of five will be acutely malnourished this year, with 185,000 of that number at risk of death without immediate medical treatment.

Citing ‘worrying similarities’ to the 2011 famine in Somalia, the International Organisation for Migration, IOM, last Friday launched a US$24.6 million appeal for the more than one million Somalis most affected by the drought.

"We named this (2017) drought ‘Odi Kawayn,’ which is Somali for ‘something bigger than the elders,’" drought victim Halima told the agency, explaining that none of the elders has ever seen a drought as severe as this one.

A massive increase in aid is urgently needed to avert a famine. IOM reports that wages are collapsing, local food prices are rising, animal deaths are increasing, and malnutrition rates are starting to rise. In addition, water prices are spiralling and Somalis are moving in growing numbers in search of food and water. Without assistance, many people face malnutrition, significantly increased risk of disease, loss of livelihoods and even death.