Wednesday, August 03, 2011
“By August (or) September, all regions of southern Somalia are likely to be facing famine,” said Fatoumata Lejeune-Kaba, a spokeswoman for the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).
As the UN was preparing to step up aid delivery in Mogadishu, it warned that violence between pro-government forces and the Islamist militia al-Shabaab was threatening the welfare of civilians.
On Monday evening, suicide attackers from al-Shabaab killed two African Union (AU) peacekeepers, in the latest explosion to rock the war-torn city.
AU troops are backing the weak central Somali government in its fight against al-Shabaab, which has links to al-Qaeda.
“Our ability to deliver (the) much needed aid is being hampered by the ongoing fighting in the Somali capital,” said Lejeune-Kaba.
Al-Shabaab also blocks most aid agencies from operating in the southern and central parts of the country it controls - regions hardest hit by the drought.
Fighting with pro-government forces in those areas was also continuing, even amid the natural disaster.
Other parts of the Horn of Africa, including areas in Kenya, Ethiopia and Uganda, were also seeing the food situation worsen. Of particular concern were herders, whose livestock was perishing.
Aid workers say that owing to rising food prices, pastoralists are selling off their remaining animals - the ones that have survived the drought - to purchase basic goods and they are left with no assets and no means to cope down the line.
“We are concerned about the impact of the drought in the Karamoja region, in northern Uganda,” Stephanie Savariaud with the UN's World Food Programme told the German Press Agency dpa.
Some areas were being deemed food-insecure, as people lacked basic nutrients.
“In Kenya,” Savariaud added, “what has been really worrying is that malnutrition rates in the north and north-east are particularly high.”
Children to the poor pastoralists across several countries are not receiving enough vitamins in their diets, as their parents cannot afford good food, she said. This could stunt their physical and mental development.
Meanwhile, the UN appealed to commercial airlines to help bring food to the over 12 million East Africans in need of humanitarian relief.
Lufthansa, British Airways, Virgin and UPS had already helped out with flights, said Marixie Mercado the spokeswoman for the UN children's fund (UNICEF) in Geneva.
“That is exactly the kind of support that was needed,” she said.
The UN declared an official famine in two regions of southern Somalia on July 20.
The country's 20-year civil war and the worsening drought continue to push refugees across the border into Kenya.
Between 1300 to 1500 people a day were arriving at Dadaab refugee camp, which is nearing the 400 000 inhabitant mark. The camp was built for just 90 000 people and efforts to relocate refugees to new sites are slow moving.
In July, more than 40 000 Somalis arrived at Dadaab, the highest monthly arrival rate in the camp's 20-year history, according to the UN.
“So far this year, some 116 000 Somali refugees have streamed into the complex of camps, already the largest and most congested in the world,” said Lejeune-Kaba, with UNHCR.
Aid workers have warned that humanitarian conditions in the pressurized camp are poor, despite UN efforts to supply food, water and medical services.