The World Food Programme (WFP) has warned of an approaching famine in Somalia that could lead to death in droves.
The WFP said it has been able to keep famine at bay in the country by massively increasing food assistance to millions of acutely hungry people.
The agency’s Somalia Deputy Country Director, Laura Turner, speaking in Mogadishu, said so far, they have been able to reach nearly 4.2 million people with food and cash relief, as a result of increased aid from international donations.
SDG Two: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
Recent data from WFP suggest that 7.1 million people cannot meet their daily food requirements in Somalia and require urgent humanitarian assistance, with more than 200,000 facing catastrophic hunger.
Also, an estimated 1.5 million children under five suffer from acute malnutrition, of which 386,000 face a high risk of disease and death.
The WFP Country Deputy Director added that the beneficiaries of food and nutrition support include half a million malnourished children and mothers with malnutrition treatment services.
She said the increased food aid so far has prevented Somalia’s hunger crisis from reaching a point of no return. However, she warned Somalia is not yet out of danger.
‘We are in a desperate race against time. If the situation continues to worsen, and we are expecting that it will because we are currently in the rainy season, and we have not seen the rains materialise’.
According to the UN, famine is likely in the Baidoa and Burhakaba districts of Somalia’s Bay Region.
It forecasts up to 6.7 million people across the country will face crisis-level food insecurity before the end of the year.
Turner said the WFP is now reaching more than double the numbers of vulnerable people with aid that it reached earlier this year.
She said food assistance alone will not prevent loss of life, as she sighted disease, poor hygiene and dehydration as equally concerning.
Turner added that the WFP works closely on an integrated response to ensure that sanitation, water access, health services are also included in what the agency is doing in order to mitigate mortality rates.
Photo source: WFP
