A United Nations emergency relief co-ordinator has said if international aid is not sent quickly to Somalia by the end of summer, more than 2 million men, women, and children could starve to death because of drought.
U.N. Undersecretary-General, Mark Lowcock says about $700 million is needed after a rainless season that has killed both livestock and crops.
On Tuesday, Lowcock said U.N.’s Central Emergency Response Fund had allocated $45 million to cover water, food shortage and other daily needs in Somalia as well as parts of neighboring Ethiopia and Kenya that were also affected by drought.
He also said more than 3 million out of Somalia’s 15 million people are struggling to meet up to minimum food requirements, and the shortages have worsened now than this past winter.
“What was forecast to be an average rainy season in Somalia is now one of the driest on record in over 35 years,” he said. “Communities that were already vulnerable due to past droughts are again facing severe hunger and water scarcity and are at risk from deadly communicable diseases.”
Aid by the U.N complements combined government efforts from the three countries to assist their people, with emphasis on internally displaced persons, and those living with disabilities.
Somalia currently has a depleted humanitarian fund, and if financial aid is delayed, the cost of saving lives on the margin of death will get higher, Lowcock said, adding that the next option then will be to turn to expansive, therapeutic feeding programs.
Lowcock said; “We could have a quick response now, which would be cheaper, reduce human suffering and more effective, or we can wait for a few months until we get all those horrible pictures on our TV screens and social media of starving kids.”
Lowcock, who heads the U.N. Office for Humanitarian Affairs, said that in past decades droughts came about every six years but recently they have hit every two or three years.
“There’s not really any question in my mind that these more frequent droughts are related to global warming and climate change,” he said. “So the only middle- and longer-term response is to look at alternative livelihoods — a different way to make a living.”