Somalia declares national disaster in face of famine

By Addis Getachew

ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia (AA) - Somalian President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed on Tuesday declared a national disaster, according to a statement, as severe drought gripped the nation.

The development follows the declaration of a famine in South Sudan as food shortages threaten more than 20 million people in Somalia, South Sudan, Yemen and Nigeria.

Only in Somalia has a famine alert been created by drought with the other crises stemming from conflict.

“The president has appealed to the international community to urgently respond to the calamity in order to help families and individuals to recover from the effects of the drought disaster to avoid humanitarian tragedy,” the statement from the president’s office said.

On Monday, the World Health Organization warned that Somalia was at risk of its third famine in 25 years. Six years ago, around 260,000 people died.

The agency said more than 6.2 million people -- half of the population -- needed urgent humanitarian aid.