Widespread famine so far averted thanks to aid
Somalia is escaping widespread famine at the end of the year thanks to the intensification of global humanitarian aid, according to the United Nations.
A medical center helping malnourished patients in Baidoa, Somalia in February 2022.
AFP
Somalia is escaping widespread famine at the end of the year thanks to the intensification of the humanitarian response, but people are dying of hunger and the situation could worsen from April 2023, the UN warned on Tuesday.
Widely accepted by the international community, the Integrated Phase Classification (IPC) helps describe the severity of food emergencies.
The latest IPC report on Somalia, released on Tuesday, “does not lead to a declaration of famine at this stage, largely due to the response of humanitarian organizations and local communities,” a spokesperson for the agency said. the UN, Jens Laerke, during a regular press briefing in Geneva.
A danger far from being averted
“If assistance is not stepped up, particularly in the health and water, sanitation and hygiene sectors, a famine is expected to occur between April and June 2023 in southern Somalia among agro-pastoral populations in Baidoa and Burhakaba districts, and among displaced populations in Baidoa city and Mogadishu,” said Jens Laerke.
Responding to the call, Washington on Tuesday announced new humanitarian aid of about $411 million for Somalia. The aid brings total U.S. assistance to Somalia this year to $1.3 billion, Samantha Power, who heads the U.S. Agency for Development Assistance (USAID), said in a statement. .
It was announced on the sidelines of a summit between the United States and Africa in Washington bringing together 49 African leaders including Somali President Hassan Cheikh Mohamoud. Overall, the report’s findings show that, over this period, the food crisis in Somalia will worsen and spread, with an estimated 8.3 million people classified as “crisis” (IPC phase 3) or to even worse levels, down from the current 5.6 million.
More than 2.7 million people in emergency situations in the spring
The number of people expected to reach Phase 5 (Catastrophe) – the highest level on the IPC scale – is expected to more than double over this period, from 214,000 to 720,000. Some 2.7 million people are also expected to be in phase 4 (Emergency) by April-June next year. This phase is characterized by largely insufficient food consumption which results in very high acute malnutrition and excessive mortality. This means that people are starving, explained Jens Laerke.
After five failed rainy seasons since the end of 2020, and a sixth probably to come, Somalia seems for the moment not to be able to avoid famine without humanitarian aid. This situation is exacerbated by rising food prices and insecurity in the country which is hampering humanitarian assistance.
Faced with widespread crop failure, dying livestock and fears of starvation, hundreds of thousands of people have already fled their homes in search of assistance, said Jens Laerke. According to the report, funding for humanitarian food assistance is currently sufficient to reach more than 5.8 million people per month, on average, until March.
AFP
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