AA / New York
The United Nations warned on Friday of a famine in Somalia, saying “hundreds of thousands of Somalis face food insecurity”.
“After four consecutive drought seasons in Somalia, the fifth is likely to be even more catastrophic, following that recorded 40 years ago,” UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric told a press conference in New York.
“Somalia is on the brink of disaster, where hundreds of thousands of Somalis face starvation,” he said.
“Catastrophic food insecurity has been confirmed for the first time since 2017, affecting more than 213,000 people,” he added.
“Our humanitarian colleagues have informed us that 7.1 million Somalis are acutely food insecure and some 6.4 million others lack access to safe water and sanitation,” he said. he pointed out.
“Since last January, at least 500 children have died of malnutrition and disease across Somalia,” he added.
And the UN official continued: “it is estimated that around 1.5 million children under five in Somalia suffer from acute malnutrition”.
Famine warnings in Somalia have increased recently, due to the lack of an effective response.
At the end of July, Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud warned during a speech in the capital, Mogadishu, that the situation is “worsening” and his country risks experiencing famine, where deaths might be recorded in certain regions.
*Translated from Arabic by Hajer Cherni
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