UN Says 2.7 Million People In Somalia Are At Risk Of Food Insecurity Due To Poor Rainfall

Around 2.7 million people in Somalia are at risk of “crisis level” food insecurity “or worse”, between April and June as forecasts predict due to the country’s poor rainfall.

According to a UN report, the situation threatens to exacerbate the plight of tens of thousands of Somalis displaced from their homes and villages due to “extreme” water shortages since last November.

The report said that pre-drought conditions have already been reported in parts of the country after the poor seasonal rains late last year. UN officials highlighted the loss of rain-fed pasture is threatening the survival of livestock which is the foundation of many Somalis’ livelihoods.

The U.N. estimates that in 2021, some 5.9 million people across Somalia – including 15 per cent women and 66 per cent children – are expected to require humanitarian support.

The agency and humanitarian partners have appealed for about $1.09 billion to go towards providing life-saving assistance to 4 million vulnerable people through the year, but only 2.5 percent of that amount has been secured so far.