Somalia is on the spot for yet another immense plight, and impending famine – Save the Children has recently warned. And this increasingly terrifying food crisis in the Horn of Africa could be far worse than the 2011 famine catastrophe that took away approximated 260,000 lives.
12 million Somali residents will not escape this adverse food crisis, and at least 50, 000 children are staring at death on the face. What is even more saddening is that there is a huge exit of most of the donors, and the so the region risk getting forgotten. Everyone will be affected adversely. Women support groups have been rendered dysfunctional because donors exited; so you can imagine how vulnerable they are.
The UN has also officially declared famine several parts of South Sudan, Nigeria, Yemen, and Somalia. But Somalia is thought to be one country that will be hit really hard when compared to the other three.
Save the Children has been categorical on this Somalia famine, and it has even dismissed some mild reports that the situations couldn’t be that serious. And you see, often, food crisis tend to be underestimated; and results could be nothing to write home about after the effects have been witnessed.
“What is seen today is just but an indication of a tipping ship – look at the significantly worsening malnutrition cases; they tell it all, and famine isn’t something that we should still imagine now, it is real”, that is according to the managing director of Save the Children in the country, Hassan Saadi Noor. Fortunately, all isn’t lost; there are great chances to save the nation, and that is to act now. If aid organizations flex their muscles the hardest, they should know that they stand great chances to salvage situations. There are great prospects of averting this disastrous humanitarian crisis.
And Somalia has been placed in category one emergency by Save the Children organization, considering the fact that the country has numerous life-threatening situations, one if which is the war episodes that have ripped the area. Workers at Save the Children clinics and healthcare services in Puntland, one of the hardest hit areas in Somalia has reported significant malnutrition in areas coming through their doors. An approximated 363,000 children have received treatment to deal avert the malnutrition, 71,000 of them severe cases. Somalia Nutrition Cluster has forecasted that there could even be larger numbers in of malnutrition cases are probable to rise to 944,000 cases, this year, with 185,000 severe cases in 2019. Urgent aid should be provided to this austerely drought-stricken country. The United Nations lately forewarned that more than 50,000 children are probable to face death.
Somali food shortage has something that needs to be acted upon fast; and if nothing is done, there can be more detrimental problems.