In 2011, a famine in Somalia resulted in the loss of more than a quarter of a million lives. Fast forward six years and the country is on the brink of another humanitarian crisis.
Due to two consecutive seasons of poor rainfall, the drought has ruined crops and livestock. This is a huge problem, especially for a country where over 70% of the population get their income from the agricultural sector.
Prices of food have already started to rise, which has only forced the population to sell the little they have left because of such extreme conditions.
Right now, over 6 million people are in danger, which is calculated to be half of the country’s population. Malnourishment and starvation have killed over a 100 people just in the last 72 hours.
It was only on Saturday when Somalia’s Prime Minister, Hassan Ali Khayre, announced that the conditions are exacting a stark human cost – due to a large part of the population needing assistance in the shadow of a famine.
If a complete famine does spread across Somalia, it will be the second famine in less than a decade.
Somalia lacks basic health services, clean water and it doesn’t have adequate sanitation. This makes it even easier for waterborne diseases, like cholera, to spread. It also means that the population in rural regions will definitely be hit the hardest during this time.
So far, coverage on this situation has been very limited, which is shocking considering the extent of this humanitarian issue. We cannot let history repeat itself and we cannot keep having this laissez-faire attitude.
In Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen, millions of lives are in danger. No child should die from hunger. No country should be experiencing this level of crisis.
Here are some websites you can visit to donate to and help to fight hunger in Somalia:
- Action Against Hunger
http://www.actionagainsthunger.org/countries/africa/somalia
- Here is a GoFundMe page started by Liban Adam for Somali Famine Relief
https://www.gofundme.com/somali-famine-relief-2017
- Concern.net
https://www.concern.net/en/where-we-work/africa/somalia
- Save The Children
http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/about-us/where-we-work/africa/somalia
- Aid For Africa
http://www.aidforafrica.org/category/somalia
- Doctors Without Borders
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/
- Islamic Relief
http://www.islamic-relief.org.uk/current-appeals/yemen-emergency-appeal/
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