Somalia says famine averted but situation still ‘critical’

By Mohammed Dhaysane

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AA) - The Somali government has said that a famine was averted in October this year thanks to joint efforts of the government, donor countries and UN agencies.

"Yes, we managed to prevent the worst, but the situation is still critical. The failure of four consecutive rainy sessions has resulted in the worst drought in 40 years,” Abdirahman Abdishakur Warsame, the Somali presidential envoy for drought response, said in a statement late Wednesday.

He said the drought still affects more than 7 million people in the country.

The prolonged drought has already displaced more than 1 million Somalis who flocked to the major cities in search of food, water, Shelter and humanitarian assistance.

“Somalia commends joint efforts of the Government, swift response from donor countries, and the tireless work of UN agencies, International and local NGOs that averted famine this year,” the statement said.

The presidential envoy also called for prioritizing recovery and resilience building to mitigate vulnerable communities from “unpredictable weather patterns.”

In the face of this climate reality, he said, Somalia needs to build the resilience of our people to adapt and mitigate its fallout.

Somalia is experiencing one of the worst droughts in 40 years due to the consecutive failure of rainy seasons.

Alongside the severe drought, disruptions in the global supply chain have exacerbated food scarcity and price surges in the country.

The envoy urged the international community to increase support for the drought response.

“I also ask development partners and humanitarian agencies to work jointly together on resilience efforts alongside emergency response”, he said.

The total humanitarian assistance provided to Somalia since the 2011 famine amounts to $5 billion, yet the droughts recur, and the country still faces the risks of famine, according to the presidency.

In late 2021, the Somali government declared the drought a “national humanitarian emergency.”