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Fatuma Abdi, 13, cradles her malnourished brother Nemo, one of twins, at Gode hospital, in the Somali Region of Ethiopia, Monday, Jan. 16, 2006, amid worrying signs of a major drought. The infant, too exhausted to even show emotion in his eyes, is one of millions of people hit by food shortages in east Africa. Fatuma does not know it yet, but in a few days, maybe a week at the most, her brother will be dead from malnutrition. Nemo's mother, who earns US$7 (6) a month from selling firewood, is so weak from food shortages that she can produce only enough breast milk to feed his twin sister. Preliminary assessments show those affected by the food shortages include an estimated 1.75 million in Ethiopia, 3.5 million in Kenya, 1.4 million in Somalia and 60,000 in Djibouti. (AP Photo) |
Drought, food shortage wracks Somalia
NAIROBI, Kenya --An agency responsible for monitoring food availability in Somalia declared a humanitarian emergency Thursday, reporting that an extreme drought has left 1.75 million people in need of assistance.
The Food Security Analysis Unit Somalia, which works with U.N., U.S. and European aid groups, issued an advisory saying the crisis is particularly severe in southern Somalia, where an estimated 1.4 million people need urgent help, the advisory said.
Between 20 percent and 30 percent of the cattle in southern Somalia have died due to lack of food or water, the groups. The malnutrition rate in some areas has reached 25 percent of the population, the report said. A rate of 15 percent is considered an emergency.
"While Somalia is normally one of the poorest and most food insecure countries in the world, current conditions are dire and way beyond the typically resilient Somali peoples' capacity to cope," said Nicholas Haan, the unit's chief technical adviser. "The window of opportunity to avert disaster is quickly closing."
The World Food Program and other agencies have appealed for contributions but have reported that there are insufficient funds available so far.
The unit said recent data show that more than 50 percent of Somalia's crops have failed, making it the worst harvest in 10 years. In some areas, harvests were at a quarter of normal levels.
The World Food Program has reported that 11.5 million people in East Africa will require food assistance in the coming months. The area includes Kenya, southern Ethiopia and parts of Sudan.
Somalia may be worst hit by the drought. The country has been divided into warring, clan-based fiefdoms since the central government collapsed in 1991.
Numerous efforts to restore order have failed.
Piracy off the Somali coast has forced the U.N. food agency to stop using cargo ships to deliver food aid. Trucking the food through the lawless country is also extremely difficult.
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