At least 200 children have died in Somalia due to malnutrition and diseases caused by the increasing drought in the country, which has left more than seven million affected and some 805,000 displaced, according to a report released Tuesday by the United Nations.
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), “disease outbreaks have returned, with more than 5,830 suspected cases of cholera in the 24 districts affected by drought since January”, before noting that “eight areas face a high risk of localized famine”.
“The rapid increase in humanitarian needs requires a massive increase (in international aid) as partners move from responding to drought to avoiding famine,” the report highlights, before emphasizing that 213,000 people suffer from “catastrophic food insecurity”.
The United Nations agency recalled, on the other hand, that the UN plan to respond to the drought requires 993.3 million dollars (about 966 million euros) to help some 6.4 million people, of whom 3.9 million have received aid since January.
“The scale of the response and the financing (…) is not enough to sustain the lives of people at risk,” he concluded.
The UN humanitarian coordinator for Somalia, Adam Abdelmoula, warned in late June that more than 350,000 children could die of malnutrition by September if the situation does not improve.
“The humanitarian situation in Somalia continues to deteriorate rapidly,” he stressed.
Source: Observadora
