Looming famine threatens child survival in Somalia
PRESS RELEASE
19th January 2017
Lives of hundreds of thousands of Somali children are at stake as millions of people continue to grapple with the threat of renewed famine that has put at risk the fragile recovery efforts and gains made in Somalia since the 2011 famine, warns World Vision Somalia.
Acute malnutrition has worsened and remains high in many parts of Somalia due to the prolonged drought.
“Everyone in the humanitarian sector is on high alert and we don’t want to see children dying again. Humanitarian organizations have become better at predicting such disasters and there is a looming crisis at hand, with heart rending consequences for children and their families and we must act now to prevent deaths. The landscape in Somalia is littered with animal carcasses. We must save the children, who will surely follow if we do not provide food, water, and health and nutrition assistance now,” says Simon Nyabwengi, National Director, World Vision Somalia Programme.
Deepening drought followed by episodes of continued insecurity; influxes of refugee-returnees; and persistent internal displacement have led to increased food insecurity. This is likely to trigger disease outbreaks and already stretched fragile basic services to the breaking point.
An estimated 322,350 children under-5 years of age are acutely malnourished, over 57,000 of whom are severely malnourished and face increased risk of morbidity and death, according to the Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit - Somalia (FSNAU).
“These children and their families need immediate life-saving assistance to have access to food, water, medicine and other basic services essential for their survival,” he adds.
FEWSNET and FSNAU jointly issued an alert dated 16th Jan 2017 signaling that Somalia risks sliding into famine if action is not taken to avert another catastrophe.
In addition, the deepening drought and water shortages have led to an increased risk of acute watery diarrhea (AWD/cholera) outbreaks, which were reported in several areas. As of January, there were 1,241 reported cases and 34 reported deaths according to the Humanitarian Response Plan launched by UNOCHA on behalf of Somalia Humanitarian Country Team (HCT).
In addition to food insecure population, the rapid increase of affected population is of great concern with more than 1.1 million people not able to meet their daily food, while another 3.9 million require livelihood support.
The number of people in need of humanitarian assistance has reached 5 million in total, more than 40% of the population in Somalia.
“A scale up of humanitarian response is urgently required to prevent further deterioration of the situation. If this continues at the current levels, then the number of people who will be in crisis or emergency is likely to increase, potentially at a drastic scale,” Simon stresses.
Hirbo Mohamed a mother of three who had brought her child to a mobile clinic at Usgure Village in Puntland says: “My child was found to be malnourished. After that he was given some plumpy nuts. I feel sad because the condition is deteriorating and we don’t have any source of livelihood as all our animals are dead and our children are getting sick and weak because of lack of food,”
World Vision is currently providing assistance to children who are malnourished by providing supplements and treatment in Usgure Village. In addition World Vision is carrying out water trucking in Jariban in Puntland enabling access to potable water for drinking, household use and for livestock consumption. However, the resources available for this intervention are inadequate to meet the needs of increasing movement of people into these areas in search of pasture and water.
World Vision is seeking US$18.5 million to provide life-saving assistance to 530,000 drought affected people in Puntland, Somaliland, South West State and Jubaland between January and December 2017.
ENDS
………….
For more information and media interviews, please contact Lilian Omariba, Senior Communications Manager, World Vision Somalia, Email: Lillian_Omariba@wvi.org Skype: lkemmy30 Mobile: +254 71555 2476