‘FAMINE AT THE DOOR’ IN SOMALIA, UN HUMANITARIAN CHIEF SAYS

Tue 06 September 2022:

The senior aid official for the UN stated on Monday that Somalia was in the midst of a humanitarian crisis and on the verge of starvation for the second time since 2011, Xinhua reported.

According to Martin Griffiths, under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, parts of Somalia could face famine by the end of 2022 due to the catastrophic drought that is wreaking havoc on the nation.

“Famine is at the door, and today we are receiving a final warning. I have been shocked to my core these past few days by the level of pain and suffering we see so many Somalis enduring,” Griffiths said at the end of his five-day visit to Somalia.

The Somalia Food Security and Nutrition Analysis report released Monday shows concrete indications that famine will occur in two areas in the Bay region (Baidoa and Burhakaba districts) in south-central Somalia between October and December.

According to the report, in order to meet the high levels of needs that will arise after December 2022, humanitarian assistance will be needed due to five seasons of poor rainfall, the worn-out coping mechanisms of affected communities, the depletion of livelihood assets, and other aggravating factors.

“I repeat: This is a final warning to all of us. The situation and trends resemble those seen in the 2010-2011, in that crisis. Except now they are worse,” Griffiths said.

He said the unprecedented failure of four consecutive rainy seasons, decades of conflict, mass displacement, and severe economic issues are pushing many people to the brink of famine.

“And these conditions are likely to last through to at least March 2023,” he said, pointing out that Baidoa is the epicenter of the humanitarian crisis in Somalia.

“It is not the only place with needs, but it is one of them. In camps for the displaced people, we saw extreme hunger. In the hospital in Baidoa, we had the unenviable privilege of seeing children so malnourished that they could barely speak,” the UN relief chief said.

Griffiths said 1.5 million children across Somalia will face acute malnutrition by October if the current course remains. “The drought, the worst in four decades, is forecast to continue. This is, in those often-used words, and no more true than here, a humanitarian catastrophe. We know that the needs will grow,” he said.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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