The UN is concerned about the "
rapid worsening
" of drought in Somalia, where 2.3 million people already face serious water and food shortages that could worsen with a probable fourth consecutive low rainfall season. "
About 2.3 million people in 57 of the country's 74 districts
" live with "
severe shortages of water, food and pasture as water reservoirs and wells have dried up,
" says the Bureau of coordination of UN humanitarian affairs (Ocha) in a statement Thursday evening. The Horn of Africa is "
on the eve of a failing fourth rainy season in a row,
" Ocha warns.
Read also The ICJ grants Somalia most of the maritime area claimed by Kenya
The current dire situation has already forced nearly 100,000 people to flee their homes in search of food, water and pasture for their livestock, the UN agency said. In recent years, natural disasters - more than conflicts - have been the main driver of population displacement in Somalia, a country beset by political violence and instability and among the most vulnerable to climate change in the world. "
All the conditions are right
" for a rapid deterioration of the situation, warns Adam Abdelmoula, the UN humanitarian coordinator in the country, stressing that "
the people affected have already endured decades of conflict, climatic shocks and epidemics
”."
The situation is serious
Somali Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management Khadija Diriye also said in the statement.
Read also Somalia: the Security Council, "deeply worried", calls for "dialogue"
“
Families are losing their livestock, a vital livelihood in Somalia, and could starve in the months to come,
” she said, saying she was “
particularly worried about children, women, the elderly and the elderly. with disabilities
”.
In eastern Africa, lack of rains and flooding have severely disrupted harvests and also affected communities dependent on livestock, especially in Kenya and South Sudan.
The floods in South Sudan were among the worst in parts of the country since 1962, the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said last month, blaming the torrential rains on climate change. .