Over 2.6 internally displaced people (IDPs) are risk from coronavirus as it poses enormous challenges for the Horn of Africa nation, said the top UN envoy for the country on Thursday.
According to James Swan, the UN secretary-general’s special representative for Somalia, the humanitarian situation is already dire.
Somalia with fragile health system tries to the pandemic which had already affected over 1,5000 people across the nation.
Mr. Swan said the consequences for Somalia are acute given the already dire humanitarian situation in the country.
“Even before COVID-19, more than 5 million Somalis required humanitarian assistance. The 2.6 million internally displaced persons are particularly at risk,” the official said.
He told the Security Council in a briefing that nearly one million Somalis are now affected by flooding as the country also faces faces its worst desert locust infestation over 2 decades.
The federal government and federal member states have responded quickly to the crisis within their means.
Somali national task force of COVID-19, was established in early March. Federal member states have created similar structures and also participate in national-level coordination.
