The United Nations says the drought in Somalia may have killed 43,000 people last year. A recent report from the Somali government and UN speculates that around 43,000 people may have died in Somalia last year as a result of several unsuccessful rainy seasons. It represents the first confirmed mortality toll resulting from the Horn of Africa drought. Under-five-year-old children are believed to account for half of the fatalities.
The agency stated that the catastrophe is far from over, and 18,000–34,000 additional fatalities are anticipated in the first half of this year. Over a quarter of a million individuals in Somalia died in a famine in 2011.
The London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and Imperial College London conducted the study for the report, which was made public on Monday. It was commissioned by UNICEF and the WHO.
The WHO representative Dr. Mamunur Rahman Malik said, “We are racing against time to prevent deaths and save lives that are avoidable.” He added that the “cost of our inaction” would mean children, women and vulnerable people would die as “we hopelessly, helplessly witness the tragedy unfold”.
For this year’s Somalia drought response strategy, the UN estimates that it will require $2.6 billion. Less than 15% of that has been funded thus far. The crisis, which has been intensified by climate change, political unrest, and the worldwide increase in food prices, has resulted in the deaths of millions of farm animals.
Getting assistance into Al-Shabab-controlled areas has been a challenge because the group is linked to al-Qaeda and is regarded as a terrorist group by the US and the UK. Al-Shabab frequently conducts vicious assaults in Somalia and presents a significant barrier to humanitarian work.