Somalia witnessed one of the worst droughts in nearly 40 years, which was expected to kill nearly 330,000 children across the country due to hunger, however, according to the UN General Assembly, the country was able to survive thanks to the humanitarian efforts there.
The United Nations has confirmed that people are dying of starvation in Somalia, warning of an exacerbation of the situation, starting in April 2023.
“If aid to Somalia is not strengthened, especially in the health, water, sanitation and hygiene sectors, famine is expected to occur between April and June in southern Somalia, among the pastoralists, farmers in the districts of Baidoa and Burhakaba, and among displaced populations in Baidoa and Mogadishu.”, said the UN Spokesperson Jens Laerke in a press conference in Geneva.
The World Food Program, the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) recently confirmed in a joint statement that, with no close end to the devastating drought in the country, the danger of famine looms more than ever.
UN agencies said the number of people facing “catastrophic levels” of food insecurity, famine and disease had risen by 160 percent due to “the failure of the fourth consecutive rainy season, skyrocketing prices and an underfunded humanitarian response.”
