The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has called for an urgent scale-up in hunger response in Somalia.

Development Diaries reports that the UN agency made the call while making a case for the millions of rural Somali people that continue to face unprecedented challenges of food insecurity.

Somalia has been on the brink of famine in recent months due to the unprecedented drought triggered by five consecutive poor rainy seasons and an anticipated sixth, exacerbated by high food and water prices, conflict and poor access to water, sanitation and health services.

According to the FAO, reversing the alarming trend of hunger requires not only sustained and at-scale humanitarian assistance but also transformative actions to sustainably improve food and water security, reduce people’s vulnerability to shocks and stresses, and improve their adaptation to climate change.

‘FAO’s livelihoods assistance is saving lives and paving the way for faster recovery for many’, the Director of the FAO Office of Emergencies and Resilience, Rein Paulsen, said in a statement.

‘However, the protracted crisis now in its third year has exhausted the coping strategies of the most vulnerable, with families experiencing destitution, displacement, childhood malnutrition and even loss of life.

‘Investments in early warning systems, flexible funding for anticipatory action and coordinated approaches to resilience building are paramount to break the cycle of year on year chronic and acute vulnerability, particularly among rural communities’.

Despite reaching over a million people with humanitarian aid, FAO says it urgently requires additional funding to scale up immediate access to food and basic needs in rural, hard-to-reach and inaccessible areas, as well as to safeguard livelihoods and support food production where it is still possible.

Source: FAO

Photo source: FAO