The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) appealed for almost 130 million US dollars to avoid a forthcoming humanitarian catastrophe in the Horn of Africa. Some 25.3 million people will face “high acute food insecurity” in 2022.
Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia are affected by severe drought.
Somalia’s worst drought in decades led to millions of people being dependent on
food aid. The lack of rain is aggravated by locust invasions in the region.
The Covid-19 pandemic is also posing a serious threat to
food security in the Horn of Africa. People are facing poor sanitation in the
middle of the Covid-19 pandemic. The government of Somalia and U.N. aid
agencies warned that millions of people in Somalia are in urgent need of food
assistance.
FAO’s plan
to help the people
The FAO has put forward a rapid response and mitigation plan
for helping people in need. The UN highlighted a set of activities that should
be prioritised from the recent Humanitarian Response Plans. The plan aimed to
save the livelihoods of an estimated 1.5 million people living in rural areas
in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia. FAO said if fully funded, the plan would allow
for the production of up to 90 million litres of milk and up to 40,000 tonnes
of staple food crops in the middle of the year.
Covid-19
pandemic in Somalia
Reportedly, in Somalia, nobody is wearing a mask. Despite
the coronavirus pandemic, there is no room to socially distance, and sanitation
is poor. The drought comes at a time when they are grappling with the burden of
the Covid-19 pandemic.
In 2011, a severe drought contributed to a famine outbreak
in Somalia. Now, the third season of drought is raising concerns that a
large-scale hunger crisis could break out in the region.
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