Somalia and millions face food insecurity

Somalia and millions face food insecurity

Noriko Watanabe and Chika Mori

Modern Tokyo Times

The United Nations is warning that Somalia faces famine concerning the ongoing drought. Thus six million people face food insecurity in this country – of these six million, four million are blighted by the drought in certain regions of Somalia. Therefore, international and regional support is needed to help Somalia.

Various U.N. agencies are appealing for donors to come forward and support Somalia. However, with G-7 nations being overtly focused on Ukraine – and the entire Sahel region and other parts of the world needing support (Northern Mozambique to Yemen) – the current funding to help Somalia is inadequate.

The UN fears that Somalia is in the grip of famine. This concerns three extreme years of drought, with the knock-on effects being crop failure, acute hunger, death of livestock, and other tragedies related to the crisis.

Voice of America reports, “The United Nations says three quarters of a million people have been forced to leave their homes in search of food for themselves and grazing land for their cattle. Last week, a U.N. food security report stated that Somalia is on the brink of a humanitarian disaster.”

Modern Tokyo Times recently reported, “Thus the ongoing Islamist insurgency by al-Shabaab is further adding to the crisis. For example, vast numbers of internally displaced people exist because of the ongoing conflict in Somalia. Therefore, with approximately 400,000 internally displaced people already in Baidoa, new people fleeing the drought are threatening to further strain the economy, food, and health care angle of a city already in crisis.”

The crisis in Somalia needs addressing – and this also applies to long-term objectives that enable nations to escape the cycle of food insecurity. Government forces and the Islamist insurgents all need to put breaks on the internal political struggle that blights this country.

The BBC reports, “The drought is affecting not only Somalia, but the rest of the Horn of Africa and many other parts of the continent. The International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC) says at least a quarter of all Africans are facing a food security crisis.”

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