LOOMING FAMINE IN SOMALIA
“This is the worst drought I have ever experienced,” Mohumed said. A powerful statement from the 85-year old village elder in Somaliland who has persevered through droughts his entire life. Made even more poignant when considering the 2011 famine caused by drought killed more than 250,000 people.
Mohumed, a village elder in Somaliland says the current drought is the worst he has ever experienced. Photo: Brett Tarver
“We’re used to getting droughts every three or four years. But this one has lasted three years in a row for us. It’s never been so bad,” he said. “Crops keep failing and all the livestock are dying. All of our savings are gone. We have nothing left.”
A farmer’s field near Mohumed’s village in Somaliland, turned to dust by years of drought. Photo/Brett Tarver
“In previous droughts we always lost a few animals. But we were still able to find water and a bit of grass for our animals to graze. But this time there is nothing,” says Hawo, with her three small grandchildren in Marsale Village, Puntland.
Hawo’s family have always been pastoralists. But they’ve been forced to flee their land because of the drought. She travelled with her family and her remaining flock for a full week before receiving emergency water supplies provided by World Vision. Hawo and her family now have access to life-giving water, but only a few weakened animals from her flock survived the journey.
“Water is life,” Hawo said. “Without water we have no animals. Without animals we have no life.”
Hawo stands over her dying goat, one of the few remaining animals left in her flock. Hawo was forced to flee her home with her family because of the ongoing drought in Somalia. Photo: Brett Tarver.
The same stories are being told again and again across Somalia. Entire areas that were once teeming with people and animals even a year ago are now completely devoid of life. The scattered carcasses of entire herds of livestock are all that remain.
A field of dead goats in Puntland, Somalia that have succumbed to drought. Photo: Brett Tarver.
Travelling across Somalia is a lot like watching a car crash in slow motion. Famine looms as livelihoods are destroyed by drought. The animals are dead or dying, and now the health of the people is beginning to fail as malnourishment becomes more common and more severe.
The statistics for Somalia paint a stark picture. According to the latest figures from the United Nations:
- 6.2 million people are in need of immediate humanitarian assistance, approximately half of Somalia’s population
- 363,000 children under-5 are acutely malnourished
- 71,000 children are severely malnourished
The Somali people are amongst the most resilient on earth. But there comes a point when resilience runs dry. The time to help is now.
“If things don’t change soon, a lot of people are going to die,” Mohumed said.
World Vision is providing life-giving assistance to drought-affected people, including emergency food, water and shelter. World Vision has initiated a fund-raising appeal of US$18-million to reach 530,000 people who are in the greatest need.