Famine Declared in 2 Somali Regions

HUMANITARIAN DISASTER

10.7 Million People Caught Between Drought and the UN Corruption

UN declares a famine in southern Somalia

Famine has been declared in two Southern Somali areas, amid the worst drought conditions in at least Half a century.

Some 10.7 million people have been affected in East Africa, with about 750,000 Somalis seeking refuge to neighboring Ethiopia and Kenya.

UN NEEDS MORE MONEY (!)

“Famine in Somalia has killed tens of thousands of people in recent months and could grow even worse unless urgent action is taken, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned on Wednesday. FAO has appealed for $120 million for response to the drought in the Horn of Africa to provide agricultural emergency assistance.”

“Hundreds of people are dying every day and if we do not act now many more will perish,” said FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf.

The famine is expected to spread throughout southern Somalia in the next couple of months, FAO said.

Prolonged severe drought has led to declaration of famine in two southern region. Image source: SAACID-ORG

Drought, Hunger and Refugees

• Somalia. The levels of malnutrition among young children fleeing Somalia’s drought are so high that they drop dead on their way to or within a day of arriving at relief camps in Ethiopia and Kenya, the UNHCR said. See Worst drought in living memory gripping Horn of Africa.
• UNHCR has estimated that more than a quarter of Somalia’s 7.5 million population are now either internally displaced or living as refugees in neighboring countries.
• “The massive influx of Somali refugees into neighbouring Kenya and Ethiopia continues unabated. Relentless violence compounded by devastating drought has forced more than 135,000 Somalis to flee so far this year. In June alone, 54,000 people fled across the two borders, three times the number of people who fled in May.” UNHCR said.
• “There are now more than 750,000 Somali refugees living in the region, mostly in neighbouring Kenya (405,000), Yemen (187,000) and Ethiopia (110,000). Another 1.46 million are displaced within Somalia.”

Drought in the Horn of Africa. Various UN agencies  have had ample time and budget to prevent (respond to) the humanitarian crisis in the drought stricken regions. So why did they fail, again?

Related Links

• Somalia Drought: Mega Disaster Threatens 2.4m People Posted on February 18, 2011
• NO CHANCE: Malnourished kids fleeing Somalia’s drought Posted on July 6, 2011