‘Famine at Somalia’s door’, says UN humanitarian chief; 7.8 million – half the population – facing crisis hunger levels
- ‘Famine is at the door and we are receiving a final warning’, said Martin Griffiths during a visit to Mogadishu
- 7.8 million, around half the population, facing hunger crisis, while around one million people have fled their homes in search for food and water
UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths warned Monday that Somalia was on the brink of famine after being hit by four failed rainy seasons that have caused a devastating drought.
“Famine is at the door and we are receiving a final warning,” Griffiths said at a press conference in Mogadishu, saying famine was likely to occur in two areas in south central Somalia between October and December this year.
Somalia and its neighbours in the Horn of Africa, including Ethiopia and Kenya, are in the grip of the worst drought in more than 40 years, which has wiped out livestock and crops.
Humanitarian agencies have been ringing alarm bells over the deteriorating situation for months, with the UN’s World Food Programme (WFP) saying last month that the number of people at risk of starvation across the region had increased to 22 million.
In Somalia alone, the number of people facing crisis hunger levels is 7.8 million, or around half the population, while around one million people have fled their homes in a desperate search for food and water, UN agencies say.
Griffiths, the head of the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), arrived in Mogadishu on Thursday for his first visit to Somalia.
