UN urges immediate aid as Somalia faces severe drought

Mogadishu, July 13 (IANS) The United Nations (UN) relief agency has appealed for urgent assistance for hundreds of thousands of Somalis, particularly in the northern regions, who face escalating hardship amid severe drought conditions.

In its latest humanitarian report released on Sunday, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that cumulative crises, including severe drought, flooding, dwindling aid, and protracted conflict, have systematically undermined the resilience of millions of Somali households.

The OCHA estimated that severe drought conditions have affected roughly 250,000 people, with coastal and remote communities hit the hardest, Xinhua news agency reported.

“Authorities are appealing for urgent assistance, warning that hundreds of thousands of people are facing increasing hardship, including more than 570,000 people who require water assistance and 1.5 million who require food assistance,” the OCHA said.

The OCHA said the Somalia Humanitarian Fund has stepped up support to the famine-risk Buurhakaba district in the Bay region, providing 4.7 million US dollars, including a recent two-million-dollar reserve allocation.

The UN agency said that malnutrition is rising, with over 400,730 children experiencing acute malnutrition, including 97,150 severe and 303,580 moderate cases.

“Reproductive health services and emergency obstetric care remain severely limited, particularly for nomadic communities. Drought has also disrupted education, with more than 820 schools reportedly closed,” the OCHA added.

Last month, the World Food Program (WFP) warned that emergency-level hunger (IPC Phase 4) now affects two million people, a sharp twofold increase from last year’s figure, indicating a significant deterioration in food insecurity.

It warned that current humanitarian food assistance reaches only 450,000 people, leaving a staggering 76 per cent of those in IPC Phase 4 without support through August.

“This gap will have severe consequences for the most vulnerable populations. Urgent funding is needed to scale up assistance and prevent further deterioration,” the UN agency said.

According to the WFP, Somalia remains trapped in one of the world’s most severe malnutrition crises, with 1.9 million children suffering from acute malnutrition.

–IANS

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