Drought situation alarming in Somalia, ICRC says

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)  warned  Wednesday on the alarming drought situation in Somalia that  is deteriorating and called for urgent measures to reverse it.

The organisation said that people were abandoning their homes in search of water and food, noting that crops fail, water levels are depleted, and livestock is lost.

Juerg Eglin, the ICRC’s head of delegation in Somalia, said the charity has started implementing its drought emergency response action, focusing on conflict-affected, hard-to-reach areas.

“We are aware of the conflict-related constraints and risks and we will be thoroughly assessing them, all the while striving to respond in a timely and efficient manner to the needs of people caught in the conflict,’’ he said in a statement issued in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia.

The ICRC said more than 670,000 people were displaced by the beginning of March as a result of the escalating drought.

It said the most affected central and southern regions of Somalia were also bearing the brunt of the ongoing, protracted conflict and violence while remaining largely inaccessible for humanitarian actors.

“There is nothing but hunger where I came from. People are hungry. There is no rain. We left in search of medical assistance but there is only hunger,’’ Fadumo Ali Mohamed, who has been displaced from her home in Jamame, was quoted as saying.

Earlier, on Monday, Somalia appealed to the international community for humanitarian support, saying 6.9 million people had been affected by the severe drought that is ravaging several parts of the country.

(Xinhua/NAN)