Somalia warns it is facing famine-like conditions

By Mohammed Dhaysane

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AA) - Somalia is experiencing its worst drought in decades, approaching famine-like conditions amid a worsening hunger and nutrition crisis, the special presidential envoy for drought response said Monday.

Abdirahman Abdishakur Warsame said 6.1 million Somalis are facing an extreme level of food insecurity while 330,000 children are facing severe acute malnutrition due to the prolonged drought.

"The Special Envoy for Drought calls on all stakeholders to increase efforts to support communities affected by drought," the Office of the Special Envoy for Drought Response said in a statement.

The statement underscored the need for an urgent and well-coordinated response and for all Somalis to stand to save lives.

"The contentious political environment which led to the prolonged electoral process, global political crisis, and the emergence of humanitarian crisis fronts elsewhere in the world have contributed to the inadequate response to the drought in the face of the impending famine in the country," the envoy said.

The climate change-related drought in Somalia is one of the worst in 40 years and has affected 66 districts in the country, displacing 771,400 families, according to the UN and the Somali government.