Over seven million Somali people who are facing basic needs are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud said Tuesday.
Addressing the leaders attending the International Conference on Climate Change (COP27) in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, Mohamud said that climate change had worsened humanitarian conditions in the horn of Africa nation.
The President emphasized the need for world leaders to chart out plans to deal with climate change and global warming.
“This year, more than eight hundred million people in Africa have had a lack of food. In Somalia, more than 7 million people cannot meet their basic food needs and are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. We need to ask ourselves why? The answer is climate change and conflicts,” President Mohamud said.
Mr Mohamud noted that his government formed a ministry to work on environment preservation and dealing with climate change, saying Somalia is vulnerable to climate change.
“Somalia is facing a humanitarian crisis that we are trying to deal with as much as we can, as a result of frequent droughts. We also experienced severe floods that destroyed our economic infrastructure, the best agricultural land, and the livelihood of our community. Our people are not able to grow crops because of the drought,” he said.
The president expressed his government’s readiness to build a stable economic future, by taking advantage of the maritime economy and agricultural opportunities.
Mohamud urged world leaders to work hand in hand in dealing with climate change.
