Somalia benefits from UN's $100 million for hunger in Africa

Somali siblings collect water in Beledweyne district, southern Somalia. Photo credit: Save the Children.

NAIROBI, Kenya - The federal republic of Somalia is among the countries listed as intended beneficiaries of $100 million which has been released by the United Nations [UN] to help in the management of the hunger which has ravaged many families in the Horn of Africa nation.

On Thursday, the United Nations released the funds to Somalia South Sudan, Sudan, Nigeria, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Yemen are following hunger, which has been occasioned by drought. For several months, most areas of Somalia are yet to receive rainfall.

According to the UN, millions of people from the said countries have either been displaced or could even die should the world fail to act immediately. The hunger, the UN said, has been worsened by the Covid-19 pandemic which is ravaging many parts of the world.

The U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs also said the spillover effects of the war in Ukraine threaten to drive millions of people even closer to famine.

Jens Laerke, OCHA spokesman said Yemen, South Sudan, and Somalia are already in what the United Nations calls a Phase 5 emergency – catastrophic hunger or famine.

“Other countries—Nigeria, Sudan, and Kenya for example—Ethiopia as well—we have millions of people who are just one step away from this catastrophic phase,” he said. “And we have to avoid that they end up in that phase because that is where people literally die from starvation and disease on our watch. If we have to avoid that, we need to act now.”

Ukraine and Russia are known as the “breadbasket of the world,” supplying nearly a third of the world’s wheat and barley exports. The World Food Program said the war in Ukraine will increase global hunger.

Already, the UN launches $43 billion in appeals for assistance to the affected countries, noting that actions should be taken immediately. The coordinator said the U.N. knows the $100 million it has made available for emergency relief will not solve the problems facing these countries.

“But it does plug a hole. It does cover a gap that is immediate, that is urgent, and that is absolutely necessary if we want to save lives in these countries,” he said. “And that is the function of Central Emergency Response Fund. It is kind of a provider of last resort.”

Laerke added that U.N. agencies hope donors will understand the situation facing these countries and support their humanitarian operations. If not, he said, drastic cuts will have to be made in critical projects.

The government of Somalia has been struggling to contain the situation, forcing it to source assistance from the international community. Dozens of people have already died according to statistics filed by the government.

GAROWE ONLINE