28 May 2004
Without substantial rains in the next two weeks, northern Somalia could suffer worsening drought conditions that would overtake the current capacity of aid agencies to provide relief, a United Nations official warned today.
"All the signs indicate that the communities of large parts of northern Somalia are experiencing yet another season of inadequate rainfall," the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the country, Maxwell Gaylard, said in a statement released in Nairobi, Kenya. "This situation could develop into full-blown disaster in the next couple of months."
Four years of below-normal rainfall have decimated the herds of pastoralists living in parts of Somaliland, Puntland and some areas of Galgaduud, which is also torn by inter-clan conflict. Aid agencies estimate that only 20 per cent of the area has had enough rain to allow pasture to grow. This pasture will be exhausted within 10 to 15 days as a result of the high concentrations of livestock that desperate pastoralist have moved there to keep the remainder of their animals alive.
The drought has already led to massive livestock deaths - in some areas up to 80 per cent of herds - further impoverishing an estimated 200,000 pastoralists, according to the UN. The loss of pack animals also means that women and children are forced to carry water for long distances.
UN agencies and their partners have been conducting short-term relief operations in the area, providing food, water, health services, veterinary support for livestock, and cash grants. But Mr. Gaylord warned that these measures cannot keep pace with a worsening disaster.
"The failure of another rainy season will require a much more concerted effort at providing relief if we are to avoid unnecessary suffering and deaths of the most vulnerable," he said.
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