SEVERE DROUGHT COULD AFFECT 8 MILLION PEOPLE IN SOMALIA

Fri 27 May 2022:

The drought which is ravaging several parts of Somalia could affect 8 million people or half of the total population in the coming months if no urgent action is taken, a drought response committee warned on Thursday.

The National Drought Relief Committee which is chaired by Abdirahman Abdishakur Warsame, the newly appointed special envoy for drought response said some 66 districts across Somalia have been affected so far.

“The drought has affected 6.9 million people in Somalia and it is feared that it will reach eight million in the coming months, or 50 percent of the total population,” Abdishakur said in a statement issued in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia.

He said some 9.4 million livestock have been affected by the drought which has also internally displaced 685,000 persons.

The country is experiencing the worst drought since the 2011 famine following failure of three consecutive rainy seasons, resulting in the destruction of livestock and crops.

Somalia has called on the international community to take part in the ongoing emergency assistance to the drought-affected people in the country.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs has warned that the drought emergency is expected to get worse ahead of the next rainy season in the coming months, noting that cases of measles and Acute Watery Diarrhoea are on the rise.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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