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9 things you need to know about the crisis in Somalia

and how you can help

By UN Humanitarian

August 30^th, 2022

Imagine losing your child to starvation. Then imagine having no time to grieve, because if you don’t quickly seek help for the rest of your family, you risk losing another child to acute malnutrition.

This is the brutal reality currently facing thousands of families in Somalia.

As famine looms and the drought worsens, more than 213,000 people across Somalia are at imminent risk of dying, but through no fault of their own.

Four consecutive failed rainy seasons, insecurity, the ripple effects of the war in Ukraine, the climate crisis and the pandemic’s economic fallout have all created the direst of conditions in Somalia.

The country is now bracing for a fifth consecutive failed rainy season, which is forecast for October-December 2022. Some 7.8 million drought-affected people (the equivalent of every second Somali) need humanitarian assistance to survive.

Here are nine things you need to know about the crisis in Somalia and how you can help.

People stand over the carcasses of their livestock during an assessment mission by the Food and Agriculture Organization. © FAO/Michael Tewelde

1. This is not a repeat of the 2011 famine. It is much worse.

Somalia’s current drought has surpassed the 2010/11 and 2016/17 droughts in terms of duration and severity. Three million livestock, which pastoralist families rely on for their livelihoods, have already perished. Four consecutive failed rainy seasons – a climatic event not seen in at least 40 years – have forced an estimated 1 million people from their homes to find a means of survival.

Astur* and her family used to live on a farm in south-west Somalia. Seventeen of their 18 goats died due to the drought.

“For four years we have not seen rains,” said 38-year-old Astur. “We lost our animals and there’s nothing growing on our farm. We could not bear it anymore and that’s why we left for Baidoa, to look for support. We walked all the way there. We put the children on a donkey cart. It took us two days and two nights to reach Baidoa.”

Astur* and her two-year-old daughter Yasmiin* in Baidoa, Somalia. © Save the Children

2. Food prices have spiked. Hunger is rising.

Somalia relies on Russia and Ukraine for more than 90 per cent of its wheat supplies. The knock-on effects of the war in Ukraine, such as supply shortages and rising fuel costs, have spiked food prices. This is disproportionately affecting the most vulnerable people, especially subsistence farmers and people in conflict-affected areas.

Families can no longer afford even basic items. In some areas, prices of basic food items, such as red sorghum, have exceeded prices seen during the 2011 famine.

For the first time since 2017, catastrophic levels of food insecurity (IPC Phase 5) have been confirmed in pockets of Somalia, with 213,000 people in famine-like conditions.

Grain for sale at the market supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Gabiley, Somaliland. (©UNDP Somalia)

3. Somalia’s children are bearing the brunt.

An estimated 1.5 million children and infants in Somalia face acute malnutrition. They include more than 386,400 children who are likely to be severely malnourished.

Children with severe acute malnutrition can easily succumb to diseases such as cholera, pneumonia, malaria and measles in a matter of days.

So far this year, at least 730 children have died in nutrition centres across Somalia.

One-year-old Mersinale is one of those who survived. Extremely malnourished, she was taken to a UNICEF-supported stabilization centre in Hargeisa Hospital, along with her twin sister. Their mother, Fatuma, said: “I was afraid I might lose them both. Even though Mersinale was the one severely sick and weak, Obsinale was also not at her full strength.”

4. Somalia’s water shortage is exacerbating its health emergency and gender-based violence.

Some 6.4 million people in Somalia lack access to safe water and sanitation, which makes them more vulnerable to disease outbreaks. This year, cases of suspected acute watery diarrhoea/cholera have more than doubled. And in the past year, suspected cases of measles have quadrupled, affecting some 13,000 people – almost 80 per cent of them children.

Women and girls are now forced to walk longer distances to access water and shelter. This heightens their exposure to gender-based violence.

A child fetches water from the Dawa River in Dolow, Somalia, which has almost dried out due to the drought. © IOM/TransLieu/Taxta

5. Humanitarians acted early and scaled up to save lives.

Building on lessons learned from 2010/11 and 2016/17, humanitarian partners acted swiftly in response to early warnings for the current drought.

Following the release in April of the Updated IPC and Famine Risk analyses, partners strictly prioritized people in areas of highest need. In the first seven months of this year, more than 5.3 million drought-affected people received humanitarian assistance.

UNOCHA staff meet with residents of the internally displaced persons (IDP) settlement in Burco, Togdheer region, Somaliland. © UNOCHA/Ahamed Fais

6. Somalis are struggling to overcome the relentless pace of crises.

Resilience-building efforts have improved people’s coping capacities, but the frequency and severity of recent droughts, combined with the exceptionally prolonged 2020-2022 drought, have made it harder for families to recover between shocks.

At the same time, many drought-affected communities are struggling to cope with the cumulative consequences of other shocks, including COVID-19 and desert locusts. Conflicts have also hindered people’s freedom of movement as they try to escape the drought.

Abdi, 65, is one of the 1 million people in Somalia forced from their homes due to the extreme drought. She is now staying at a site for internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Dollow. © IOM/Claudia Rosel

7. The window of opportunity is closing.

Funding for the Somalia crisis has increased in the past few months, allowing humanitarians to reach more than 5.3 million people so far this year. But much more funding is needed to avoid large-scale loss of life, especially with the looming threat of a fifth failed rainy season.

The Somalis suffering the most from the ongoing drought are the human face of the global climate crisis. They and the people of the Greater Horn of Africa are bearing some of the worst consequences of climate change, yet they emit little to none of the greenhouse gases attributed to global warming. This cruel injustice is especially deadly for communities already living with scarce resources and on the edge of poverty.

They should not have to wait for a famine declaration to receive the world’s attention.

A mother holds her child near an IDP settlement site in Burco, Togdheer Region, Somaliland. © UNOCHA/Ahmed Fais

8. We averted famine before. We can and must do so again.

In the past 10 years, the Horn of Africa has endured three severe droughts (2010/11, 2016/17 and 2020-2022). The 2010/11 drought, combined with conflict and difficulties reaching people in need, caused famine in Somalia. Quarter of a million people died.

The 2016/17 drought brought millions of people in the region to the brink of famine, which was prevented only through rapid and timely humanitarian response.

Sufficient funding, early warning and action, a coordinated response, unimpeded humanitarian access and cessation of conflicts are all critical to averting famine and preventing large-scale of loss of life.

(March 2017) Children at a World Food Programme centre in Mogadishu, Somalia. © UNOCHA/Giles Clarke

(December 2019) Pastoralists collect water at the UNDP-funded dam in Baligubadle, Somaliland. © UNDP Somalia

(November 2021) The International Organization for Migration delivers water by truck to people affected by the drought in Kismayo, Lower Juba Region, Somalia. © UNOCHA/Ahmed Fais

(May 2020) Food distribution at an IDP camp in Somalia’s Hiran Region. © UNOCHA/Warsame

“A world that has resources to wage wars must have the means to save lives.”

9. How you can help

The compassionate impulse to help our fellow human beings has never wavered, even amid the worst austerity. Now is the time for the international community to stand with the people of Somalia.

In an increasingly wealthy and bountiful world, no country should experience famine. And no child should die of hunger.

Your donation will help the United Nations and humanitarian partners to continue providing food, clean water, health services and other life-saving assistance to people in need.

DONATE to the Somalia Humanitarian Fund.

A local woman receives aid from the Mother and Baby Area at the Jilal Two IDP site in Garowe town, Nugaal Region, Somalia. © UNOCHA/Ahmed Fais

Footnotes

By Bingying Liu

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FootNotes

By Bingying Liu