HC

Somalis are no strangers to hardship, having endured years of drought, conflict and instability. Last year saw a devastating infestation of desert locusts, extensive flooding and COVID-19, which brought new health and socioeconomic woes. Now the country is again facing critical water shortages, which are causing livestock deaths, mounting hunger …

NAIROBI/GAROWE —  Nearly three-quarters of Somali families lack safe drinking water as drought looms across the country and depletes wells, raising the risk of hunger as crops fail and livestock dies, UK-based charity Save the Children said on Monday. Climate change is taking a heavy toll across eastern Africa, and …

GENEVA — The World Food Program is warning it may be forced to cut food rations in June for more than a million vulnerable Somalis because it does not have enough money to maintain the operation. This would deal a heavy blow to vulnerable people in Somalia who are just …

MOGADISHU — Somali Health Ministry on Tuesday confirmed 109 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of recorded cases to 9,437. 47 more people were recovered from the disease, hence the total number of recoveries is now at 4,306 according to the Ministry of Health. Six people have succumbed to …

MOGADISHU —  President Farmaajo has received his first dose of the AstraZeneca-Oxford vaccine on Tuesday, a day after the first batch arrived in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu. President Farmaajo said he was taking the vaccine to show Somalis that it’s safe. “I expressed faith in the vaccination efforts by endorsing it …

MOGADISHU — More than 2.5 million people in Somalia are in need of humanitarian assistance due to natural disasters, conflict, and the coronavirus pandemic, a top official said on Sunday. “Water shortages, locust swarms, floods, COVID-19, and terrorism are all major challenges for Somalia,” Khadija Diriye, the humanitarian affairs and …

MOGADISHU — Somalia on Monday received the first shipment of 300,000 doses of Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine to help contain the spread of the COVID-19 in the Horn of African nation. The health ministry said the first shipment will target frontline workers, elderly and people with chronic health conditions and aims to …

NEW YORK  —  Poor rain forecast for the next few months threatens to exacerbate the plight of tens of thousands of Somalis displaced from their homes and villages due to “extreme” water shortages since last November, the UN humanitarian office said on Friday. Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the UN Office …

BURA HACHE  — Kenyan troops serving under the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) have supplied clean potable water and foodstuffs to the residents of Bura Hache and Gherille in Gedo region of Somalia, benefiting over 400 households. The area is currently experiencing acute shortage of clean water and the …

MOGADISHU — More than 83,000 people have been displaced in Somalia due to water shortage since November 2020, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said Friday. “Coupled with conflict, insecurity and other drivers of crisis, the harsh weather and forecasted below-average rains in some areas will …