Somalia: UN Says 7.7 Million in Need of Humanitarian Aid in Somalia

Muse Mohammed/IOM
Animals suffer from a severe lack of pasture due to the drought
1 June 2022
Shabelle Media Network (Mogadishu)

TOPSHOT - Yurub Abdi Jama, 35 years old and mother of 8 children, walks while holding a cup in an informal settlement of internally displaced people in the outskirts of the city of Hargeisa, Somaliland, on September 16, 2021. - In recent years, natural disasters -- not conflict -- have been the main driver of displacement in Somalia, a war-torn nation in the Horn of Africa that ranks among the world's most vulnerable to climate change. Fierce and frequent droughts and floods have uprooted more than three million Somalis since 2016, according to UNHCR data that tracks internal displacement by cause. The phenomenon is emptying parts of Somalia's rural interior and spawning huge camps on the outskirts of cities, as urban populations swell with desperate migrants seeking a new start. (Photo by EDUARDO SOTERAS / AFP) (Photo by EDUARDO SOTERAS/AFP via Getty Images)

MOGADISHU -- The overall number of people in need of humanitarian assistance and protection in Somalia has risen to 7.7 million from 5.9 million in 2021, the United Nations relief agency said on Tuesday.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the escalating drought which has ravaged several parts of Somalia due to failed rains has devastated many lives in Somalia.

"The number of affected people is steadily rising, and displaced families are approaching life-threatening levels of need," OCHA said in its latest report on humanitarian fund allocation.

According to the UN, the severe drought is compounding severe vulnerabilities and humanitarian needs caused by decades of protracted conflict and insecurity, climate shocks, and disease outbreaks.

OCHA said the 25 million U.S. dollar standard allocation will provide immediate support to communities critically affected by the drought in key hotspot locations, particularly in underserved and hard-to-reach areas.

It said the allocation comes at a time when the recurring shocks have deepened poverty levels, compounded pre-existing vulnerabilities, and stripped communities of their livelihoods.

"Among the first sources of funding this year, this allocation will likely catalyze additional resources and early action to those most affected by the drought," OCHA said.

It said the allocation will allow response in rural areas mitigating further drought-induced displacements.

The UN says thousands of children have dropped out of school as parents can no longer afford to pay fees, adding that food insecurity is increasing and malnutrition is high in drought-affected areas.

Source:Xinhua

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