Sunday June 12, 2022
The United Nations migration agency, the International
Organization for Migration (IOM) Friday appealed for 66 million U.S. dollars to
reach more than 1.25 million people in Somalia with humanitarian assistance by
February 2023.
The IOM said it needs immediate funding to continue
essential life-saving programs and help communities adapt and withstand future
shocks.
"The response by IOM and its partners is preventing the
worst outcomes, but the needs are rising fast as the drought situation
worsens," the IOM said in a statement issued in Mogadishu, the capital of
Somalia.
According to the UN, more than 7.1 million people, nearly
half of the total population, are facing historic levels of drought in Somalia.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
(OCHA) confirmed Friday it has received 260 million dollars for Somalia
humanitarian relief responses in 2022, facilitating efforts to provide
immediate and life-saving assistance to over 2.8 million people who have been
affected by the ongoing devastating drought in the country.
The IOM said it is scaling up its response and has assisted
more than 350,000 people affected by the drought - the worst seen in decades
following the fourth consecutive failed rainy season.
"Nearly 800,000 people have been displaced due to
drought since early 2021, at least half a million of them in the first four
months of this year. Women and children make up 80 percent of the newly
displaced population," it said.
Extreme dry conditions are deepening Somalia's decades-long
humanitarian crisis caused by conflict, instability, recurrent weather shocks,
and disease outbreaks.
The IOM said acute water shortages, the death of livestock -
approximately 3 million - and rising food prices aggravate the needs of
millions of people who urgently need support as the country faces a potential
fifth failed rainy season later 2022 - a climatic event with potentially fatal
consequences if urgent action is not taken.
"Somalia is on the front line of climate change with
weather patterns becoming more unpredictable each year. The climate crisis is
outpacing some of the efforts being taken to save lives and livelihoods in the
country," the IOM said.
It said food, water, health care, and shelter remain the
most immediate needs with 213,000 people experiencing extreme levels of hunger.