More than 58,000 children risk being starved to death in Somalia because of a severe drought.
According to a new United Nations food security and nutrition assessment, the situation in Somalia is alarming and could get worse, especially in parts of Puntland and Somaliland.
“We are deeply concerned that the proportion of severely food insecure people remains alarmingly high, especially people who are unable to meet their daily food needs. Some 3.7 million people will be acutely food insecure through mid-2016.
“With severe drought conditions intensifying in Puntland and Somaliland, many more people risk relapsing into crisis,” said Peter de Clercq, the Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, in a press release
“The level of malnutrition, especially among children, is of serious concern, with nearly 305,000 children under the age of five years acutely malnourished,” said UN aid chief for Somalia Peter de Clercq.
“We estimate that 58,300 children face death if they are not treated,” he added.
Some 950,000 people “struggle every day to meet their food needs,” the UN said, adding that 4.7 million people in total, or nearly 40% of the population were in need of aid.
While acute food insecurity and malnutrition is prevalent across the country, the report highlights that the drought situation in Puntland and Somaliland is of particular concern.
Erratic rains during the 2015 (April to June) and the Karan (August to September) seasons in Puntland and Somaliland resulted in a near-total failure of cereal production (87 per cent below the five-year average).