The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has begun its emergency relief programme in Somalia with more than 150,000 households benefiting from the first round of relief packages.

Each family was given $90 to cover the cost of food and other necessary items, according to the humanitarian organisation.

Somalia is experiencing back-to-back drought seasons with more than 200,000 people facing imminent risk of famine as fears grow over a possible failed fifth rainy season.

The protracted armed conflict and the rising cost of food and fuel have also aggravated the economic impact on vulnerable communities in the country.

Since January 2021, more than a million people are believed to have been displaced because of the drought.

ICRC’s cash assistance programme seeks to help the most vulnerable people survive and minimise debt while helping them build resilience in the face of the worsening crisis.

‘The cooperatives have a good chance to survive even during this drought’, an agronomist at the ICRC, Hassan Nur, said.

‘People come together as a community and when they are motivated, they use their energy and produce good results’.

To also support resilience building, the ICRC said it will support agricultural cooperatives with training, drought-resistant seeds, farming tools and cash for the fuel needed to irrigate.

Source: ICRC

Photo source: ICRC