{"id":9228,"date":"2021-11-24T21:32:44","date_gmt":"2021-11-24T21:32:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/?p=9228"},"modified":"2021-11-29T09:37:24","modified_gmt":"2021-11-29T09:37:24","slug":"humanitarian-group-calls-for-urgent-help-as-somalia-drought-threatens-millions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sooha.org\/en\/2021\/11\/24\/humanitarian-group-calls-for-urgent-help-as-somalia-drought-threatens-millions\/","title":{"rendered":"Humanitarian group calls for urgent help as Somalia drought threatens millions"},"content":{"rendered":"

MOGADISHU —<\/strong> A global humanitarian organization on Wednesday called for urgent help for Somali people as nearly a quarter of the Horn of Africa nation is \u201cstruggling to feed itself due to an ongoing drought.”<\/p>\n

\u201cHundreds of water sources have dried up, and countless animals and crops have died as the result of the intensifying drought,\u201d Save the Children said in a statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany families no longer have access to food and safe drinking water and have lost their life savings in the deaths of their livestock. In some areas, water prices have skyrocketed,\u201d the statement added.<\/p>\n

Severe drought is gripping most of Somalia as seasonal rains failed for the third time since late 2020, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, Somalia\u2019s prime minister declared a state of emergency over the deadly drought in the Horn of Africa nation.<\/p>\n

Somalia is on the frontline of climate change and has experienced 30-plus climate-related hazards since 1990, including 12 droughts and 19 floods, the UN said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

According to Save the Children, around 2.6 million people in Somalia, nearly 22 % of the population, are affected by the drought and around 113,000 people are displaced.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn addition, 1.2 million children under the age of five are projected to be acutely malnourished by the end of the year, with nearly 213,400 of them severely malnourished,\u201d it added.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur staff in the field are witnessing dried up water sources, no crops, and no pastures, animals dying and people moving away from their communities after losing their livestock,\u201d Mohamud Mohamed Hassan, said Save the Children\u2019s country director in Somalia.<\/p>\n

\u201cThose who cannot afford to pay for water and food face the prospect of dying of hunger and lack of water,\u201d Hassan said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an unsustainable situation for the people of Somalia. Somalis are resilient, they are adaptive, but no one can adapt quickly to such dramatic changes in the climate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Calling on the global community to take responsibility, he said: \u201cChildren are bearing the brunt of the climate crisis in Somalia.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cResources need to come, now, to this country so that humanitarian actors can respond to the worsening situation quickly and save lives. The time to act is now, not tomorrow, not next week, not next year,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Source: Anadolu Agency\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Origin: View original<\/span><\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MOGADISHU — A global humanitarian organization on Wednesday called for urgent help for Somali people as nearly a quarter of the Horn of Africa nation is \u201cstruggling to feed itself due to an ongoing drought.” \u201cHundreds of water sources have dried up, and countless animals and crops have died as the result of the intensifying …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":9034,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22,6,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9228","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-environment-and-disasters","category-food-security-cluster","category-news"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t