Record drought in Somalia has displaced more than one million people. The United Nations warns that famine will become widespread if urgent needs are not met soon.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said another 83,000 people were displaced by drought during July, with the worst displaced coming to the Gulf of Banadir. . and Gedo area.
People are moving in search of food and other aid, Ishaku Mshelia, deputy emergency coordinator for the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, told VOA by phone on Wednesday.
He said FAO was trying to help.
“[a] Our capacity as a humanitarian community is to reach out to those affected within our communities and ensure that we are able to provide the services they need. By doing so, they… don't feel compelled to migrate," Mshelia said. He said. “Unfortunately, in previous droughts, many people were reported to have died en route to clearings to seek relief.”
FAO Somalia has about one million people in rural areas. said it needed $130 million to fully fund the anti-famine program designed to help the United States.
A FAO statement released on Wednesday said widespread famine could be inevitable if funding shortfalls were not addressed.
According to UNICEF's United Nations Children's Fund and 500 children died from drought-related malnutrition.
Authorities in Somalia's Ged region have confirmed to VOA that more than 50 children have died due to suspected drought-related illnesses. Deaths were reported in the towns of Bardere and Beredawo, which border Kenya.
Ali Yousuf Abdullahi, spokesman for the Gedo Regional Administration, said the region was facing a "devastating" situation due to the drought.
He said people were fleeing in search of a better life and congregating in major towns, including Dolow, near the Ethiopian border.
As of today, Mr. Abdullahi said Droo has received more than 50,000 displaced people from the Ethiopian side, affected by drought and settling in his IDP camps in Droh. I said there are people. He said town administrators are doing their best to provide relief, but that alone is not enough. Declared a situation. More than 7 million people are affected by Somalia's worst drought in more than 40 years.
The drought killed more than two million livestock, according to the Somali Prime Minister's Office.
