Somali government has appealed to the international community for humanitarian support, saying millions of people have been affected by the severe drought which is ravaging several parts of the country.
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud urged donors to hasten aid as the drought condition is deteriorating.
Mohamud emphasized the need for coordinated immediate action to prevent famine.
Remarks of Mohamud come hours after the UN warned of the devastating outlook for millions of drought-affected Somalis amidst heightened risks of famine.
Adam Abdelmoula, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, called on development partners to act urgently and help scale up resources to match the rapidly increasing needs and save more lives in Somalia.
“With the limited resources that we have, we have only been able, between the months of January and April, to reach 2.4 million out of all those in need of humanitarian assistance,” Abdelmoula said in a statement issued in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, on Tuesday evening.
The UN envoy on Tuesday accompanied Somalia’s newly-appointed Special Envoy for Drought Response, Abdirahman Abdishakur Warsame on his first field visit to southwest Somalia.
“The situation is extremely dire and grim. 7.1 million people are going to be affected by this drought situation before the end of this year,” Abdelmoula said.
