Somali Observatory for Humanitarian Affairs It is a specialized, independent, non-profit media network that observes and follows up the Somali humanitarian scene
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MOGADISHU (SOHA) – Qatar charity has warned of the risk of famine and worsening living conditions in Somalia, as a severe drought in the country has left millions of Somalis without food security, according to local and international reports. Also, the poor infrastructure and services are playing a major role in expediting the occurrence of the disaster.
Director of the QC office in Somalia, Abdel Nour Mirsal, said the country is experiencing one of the worst humanitarian crises of recent times due to the drought and ongoing conflicts. The delay in rains for several consecutive seasons caused the shortage of water, the desiccation of rivers and wells, the lack of pastures, the decrease in the agricultural productivity, which led to the increase in food prices.
Hundreds of thousands of Somalis are living as refugees after fleeing famine to Kenya, Yemen and other countries in the Horn of Africa, and the number of internally displaced people (IDPs) in Somalia has reached 1.5 million.
Also, a UN report warned that Somalia is standing on the precipice of a humanitarian disaster as half of its population (about 6.2 million people) are facing food insecurity and three million people are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance.
The report anticipated that the number of children suffering from acute malnutrition will rise from 185,000 to 270,000 in the next three months.
The UN refugee agency says the humanitarian situation in Somalia needs large projects to promote the return and reintegration of refugees into their homeland and improve the livelihoods of the IDPs. It also stresses that, as the challenge is big, huge efforts are immediately required to support the restoration of normalcy in Somalia.
Somalia is one of the most devastated countries, where the violence has left few difficult and painful choices for civilians. According to UNHCR’s latest report, there are 313,255 refugees in Kenya, 55,894 in Yemen, 254,274 in Ethiopia, 37,193 in Uganda, 13,077 in Djibouti and 2,246 in Eritrea. Although the number of returnees from these countries is increasing dramatically, the number of displaced persons still exceeds 1.5 million across Somalia.
Long-Standing Conflicts
The long-standing conflicts over two decades and natural disasters, particularly ongoing drought caused severe damage to the public infrastructure in Somalia and hindered the provision of basic services to the people all over the country, leading to the internally displacement of thousands of people.
Around 6.7 million people in the country are in need of assistance and a large number of refugees, returnees, and IDPs require the long-term support to withstand the impact of the famine, drought and conflicts.
Source: QC
