Agencies and humanitarian groups voice fears that drought and rising prices could jeopardise the lives of more than 6 million people without swift action

Somalia is facing a “very real risk” of famine, with more than 6 million people, half its population, facing acute food insecurity in the country, three UN agencies have warned.

Humanitarian groups in Somalia cautioned there was a “small window” to stop a repeat of the 2011 famine, when an estimated 260,000 people starved to death in the country after a slow response from donors.

The projected speed of deterioration in a country gripped by severe drought, rising prices and forecasts of poor rains, together with the number of people at risk and the difficulties involved in reaching those affected, have led to a stark warning that an “immediate and massive” response is needed to avert catastrophe.

In Somalia, western donors made famine more, not less likely | Rob Bailey Read more

According to the latest findings, by the Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit (FSNAU) in Somalia, almost 3 million people face crisis and emergency food insecurity, more than double the number six months ago. Crisis and emergency, a classification of the severity of food insecurity, is one step away from famine. About 363,000 acutely malnourished children need urgent treatment and nutrition support, including about 71,000 who are severely malnourished, according to FSNAU.

Dick Trenchard, the Food and Agriculture Organisation representative in Somalia, said: “The latest report tells us that we risk famine in several areas of Somalia in the coming months. The warning could not be clearer and it could not be more stark. What worries most is the projected speed of deterioration, the scale – in terms of number of people at risk, the geography and the very real risk of a significant worsening.”

Trenchard, who was speaking on behalf of the FAO, the World Food Programme (WFP) and the UN children’s agency Unicef, said the response must span prevention – particularly in rural areas where farmers can be given cash to keep their animals alive – mitigation measures such as nutrition, and health support.

He urged international partners, Somali civil society and government to work together to “avert catastrophe”.

We have a small window to stop what happened in 2011 from happening again – but that window is quickly shutting Hassan Saadi Noor, Somalia country director, Save the Children

Global hunger levels are at their highest for decades, with four countries – Nigeria, South Sudan, Yemen and Somalia – facing the risk of famine and 70 million people in need of food aid, according to the Famine Early Warning Systems Network, a US-based agency. Failed rains across parts of the Horn of Africa, following one of the strongest El Niño events on record, has led to a drought affecting Somalia, south-eastern Ethiopia and northern and eastern Kenya.

Two seasons of failed rains in Somalia have resulted in severe water shortages, tripling the price of a barrel of water (200 litres) to $15. Three-quarters of the country’s livestock has died and cereal production is down 75%, sending food prices through the roof. All of these are famine indicators, according to the WFP.

Save the Children warned that millions of children in the country risked starvation or even death.

Hassan Saadi Noor, director of Save the Children in Somalia, said: “With the spring rains expected to be much lower than average, we have a small window to stop what happened in 2011 from happening again – but that window is quickly shutting.

“Five years ago, more than a quarter of a million lives were needlessly lost, 130,000 of them children. We simply cannot have a repeat of that tragedy. The only way to prevent this devastating loss of life is for donors and international leaders to act now.”

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs is calling on the international community to provide $300m by April, while Save the Children said it requires $60m to reach 1.2 million Somalis affected by the crisis.



Preliminary forecasts for poor “deyr” or rains in Somalia in March-May, follows the failure of the last two rains, which may lead to a further deterioration in food security.



Abdurahman Sharif, the director of Somalia NGO Consortium said: “Food security is very bad in certain areas and we also have access limitations. A lot of people are concerned about the famine that happened in 2011. That hit southern central Somalia. Here we have a situation that has hit the whole of Somalia. One of the big failures of 2011 is we didn’t act in time and we do not want to repeat those mistakes.

“The very sad fact is that we have competing priorities. The situation in Yemen is very bad, Syria is bad. But we are asking NGOs, the UN, the donor agencies, to scale up their response.”

There are fears that, if the forecasts are accurate, more people could be affected than in 2011. Food insecurity is more widespread than in 2011, when the southern and central part of the country were worst hit.



How to donate: South Sudan famine and Somalia, Yemen and Nigeria food crises Read more

Arif Husain, chief economist and head of the World Food Programme’s vulnerability assessment mapping unit, said: “The difference is, before we had the drought of 2010, we had a good season, so people had some coping strategies. This time around, the previous rains have been bad, so people are at a lower level of coping.

“The last famine was declared in July 2011, but the excessive mortality had started to happen in April and May. We are starting in February, so that people can see the urgency of the situation.”

The death toll in the 2011 famine was exacerbated by extremist militants from al-Shabaab, an Islamist group allied to al-Qaida, which banned food aid deliveries to the areas of south-central Somalia it then controlled. In 2011 the group, which has been fighting an insurgency in Somalia for a decade and once controlled much of the country, was forced out of the capital, Mogadishu, and many other towns and cities, but it still dominates in rural areas.</s>Somalia On The Brink Of Famine, U.N. Warns

The United Nations is warning that Somalia could soon be facing a famine without urgent international action, raising concerns about a repeat of 2011's famine which killed more than a quarter of a million people.

The country is in a severe drought after two seasons of weak rainfall, the U.N. said in a statement. "In the worst affected areas, inadequate rainfall and lack of water has wiped out crops and killed livestock, while communities are being forced to sell their assets, and borrow food and money to survive," the U.N. says.

"If we do not scale up the drought response immediately, it will cost lives, further destroy livelihoods, and could undermine the pursuit of key State-building and peacebuilding initiatives," said the Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, Peter de Clercq.

The number of people in need of assistance is rising rapidly. In September, that figure was at 5 million people – now, it's over 6.2 million.

There are growing concerns about the possible human toll, but de Clercq emphasized that at this point, famine is not a foregone conclusion. "A drought — even one this severe — does not automatically have to mean catastrophe if we can respond early enough with timely support from the international community," he said.

The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization's Somalia representative, Richard Trenchard, pointed out some of the warning signs: "Labour prices are collapsing; local food prices are rising; food availability is becoming patchy; animal deaths are increasing; and malnutrition rates are rising, especially among children." Conditions are particularly severe in the rural area of Puntland, he said.

And as NPR's Gregory Warner explained, it's rare for a famine to officially be declared, and can come after much of the damage has already occurred:

"Consider Somalia, a country that's been mired in war and chaos for more than two decades. When [the U.S. government's Famine Early Warning Systems Network] declared famine there in 2011, aid money poured in, as did television cameras. The famine was quickly defeated. "But by the time the Somali famine was officially declared, at least half of its 260,000 victims had already died. So by the time conditions become so dire that they warrant the famine label, it can be too late."

Somalia also faces regular militant attacks from the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab group. The country is currently going through a historic political process. It has sworn in a new Parliament and is in the process of planning presidential elections.</s>‘Time to Act to prevent another famine in Somalia,’ UN warns

“This is the time to act to prevent another famine in Somalia,” said a Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, Peter de Clercq, expressing concern that without a major intervention, the worst drought-affected areas in Africa may soon be struck by a major famine.

The official elucidated on the matter at the launch of the latest food security and nutrition data in the nation’s capital Mogadishu.

Somalia had witnessed the worst famine of the 21st century in 2011, when more than a quarter million people lost their lives.</s>Somalia is on the brink of its second famine in six years, with drought already killing people in the north and crisis looming on a catastrophic scale, the United Nations said on Thursday. "In six months, we'll be facing a catastrophe and a famine on a scale we cannot imagine, if we don't act right now," the U.N.'s humanitarian coordinator for Somalia, Peter de Clercq, said in a press conference in the Somali capital of Mogadishu.

Start the conversation, or Read more at Reuters.</s>More than 2 million Kenyans are at the risk of starvation.

Kenya’s Marsabit County is facing hard times these days. In more than half of the 42 counties, people are at the risk of starvation due to the ongoing drought. The number of famine related deaths has increased rapidly. People are losing their animals due to the lack of water and food. Residents have to travel more than 10 kilometers a day, just to get the valuable source.

The Governor of Marsabit County Ukur yatani said that Marsabit is the most affected and influenced county by the draught. He said that we have lost quite a huge number of livestock. The situation is getting worse as people are starving. Schools have been closed and the condition is very chaotic. The situation is way beyond the control of the government.

Red Cross Society of Kenya is trying to take control of the situation. Kenya Red Cross Societies Secretary General Abbas Gullet says that the organization is appealing for financial aid to a tune of one billion Kenya shillings (US$100m). Residents are losing their animals which is the only source of their wealth. Moreover, meteorological department is saying that people shouldn’t expect the rain soon.</s>A terrible sense of déjà vu hangs over the Horn of Africa, where fears are growing that a severe drought could soon become a famine. Two years of below-average rainfall have pushed Somalia and Ethiopia to the brink of starvation and nomadic families, who move with the seasons in search of fertile land and fresh water, have faced the heart-wrenching choice between feeding themselves and feeding their animals.

The goats were first to die, followed by the cows. Now even the bodies of drought-resistant camels lie beside shriveled cacti at the side of the road. For families who rely on these animals for meat, milk, transportation and trade it’s the equivalent of losing their entire life savings.

Now, with nothing left and no food to fuel the onward journey, they’ve settled in camps, living in makeshift tents, waiting for aid to arrive. In Awdal region, near the Ethiopian border, 1,200 people have gathered at the newly emerged Quljeed camp, without a single toilet.

It’s estimated that the people here have lost 5,000 animals between them and hundreds, if not thousands of goats, cows and camels, are buried in mass graves beside a sprawling jumble of circular tents made from branches stuck in the ground and covered with sheets.

Mum-of-three, Nimo Mohamed Abdi, 32, has not yet found any sheets so she and her children sleep on dry earth beneath a dome of twigs, entirely exposed. “Three months ago we had 150 goats, 20 cows, 10 camels and three donkeys. Now nothing remains. Everything died,” she said.

“We were living by the coast then and the animals died so quickly, one after another, that we could do nothing with their corpses but throw them into the sea. I’ve been here for 25 days. I don’t know what the future holds for us”, she added.

The UN estimates 4.7 million people are now in need of humanitarian assistance. In Somalia and Ethiopia, where recurrent droughts are linked to El Niño climate fluctuations, the situation feels hauntingly familiar. In 2011, following a similar two-year drought in southern Somalia, warnings of an impending famine went unheard. The resulting crisis claimed more than 250,000 lives.

While water restrictions are being felt across Southern Africa, the need in Somalia and Ethiopia is dire. Islamic Relief South Africa has therefore launched our Water for Life Campaign, which enables every person – Muslim or non-Muslim – to play a role in saving thousands of lives in the Horn of Africa.

To find out how you can get involved visit our website at www.islamic-relief.org.za or call 0800 111 898

 [Source: Islamic Relief]</s>Rebel taxes and seizures drive hungry children out of pre-famine Somalia

NAIROBI, Feb 3 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Thousands of malnourished Somali women and children are fleeing into Ethiopia to escape Islamist militants who are taxing them and seizing their food, animals and land, the United Nations said on Friday, amid fears of renewed famine.

Arrivals into Ethiopia's Dollo Ado camp from Somalia surged in January to more than 100 a day, said the U.N.'s refugee agency, UNHCR, the highest number seen in four years.

"They report being taxed heavily by al Shabaab," said Clementine Awu Nkweta-Salami, UNHCR's country representative in Ethiopia, referring to the Somali militant group.

"In some cases they also report they have had their land confiscated as well as crops and livestock," she told the Thomson Reuters Foundation by phone.

The U.N. issued a pre-famine alert on Thursday, with 6.2 million of Somalia's 10 million people needing emergency aid due to conflict and severe, prolonged drought.

Al Shabaab, which has been fighting Somalia's Western-backed government for a decade, partially controls Bay and Bakool regions where most of the new arrivals come from.

Al Shabaab could not immediately be reached for comment.

Few international agencies work in al Shabaab controlled areas, relying on local charities to deliver aid for them.

"The real question is going to be whether (humanitarians) are going to be able to get enough food and water into those communities in time to prevent a mass exodus," said Charlie Mason, Save the Children's humanitarian director.

A lack of access to food aid was one of the main reasons 260,000 people died in Somalia's 2011 famine, also caused by drought and conflict.

The U.N. hopes it will have better access than in 2011 as African Union forces have pushed al Shabaab out of the Somali capital, Mogadishu, and other southern strongholds.

"In 2011, the access in drought-affected areas was so limited, the only option people had to seek assistance was to head towards the border," Justin Brady, head of the U.N.'s Office for the Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), told a news conference on Thursday.

"We (now) have the ability to mount operations that can help stabilise rural areas before they fall into famine conditions."

Three-quarters of new arrivals in Ethiopia are children, who travel up to 10 days on foot or donkey cart, Salami said.

Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) is screening all children under five on arrival in Ethiopia.

In the first three weeks of January, 77 percent had Global Acute Malnutrition -- five times higher than the World Health Organization's emergency threshold of 15 percent.

"What we have seen in relation to their nutritional status is quite concerning," said Kate Nolan, head of mission in Ethiopia for MSF, which pulled out of Somalia in 2013 due to attacks on its staff.

Some new arrivals reported delays crossing the border, she said, although she was unclear about the cause.

The U.N. is revising its projections for new arrivals in Ethiopia, which it predicted last year would be 10,000 refugees in the first four months of 2017.

"If the current arrival pattern continues and we get on average 3,000 a month, then we will reach that 10,000 mark very quickly," said Nkweta-Salami.

Additional land is available if the camp gets full, but there have been food ration shortages since 2015 due to lack of funding.

More than 200,000 Somali refugees live in Dollo Ado, 70 km (45 miles) from the Somali border, which hosts the second largest Somali refugee population in the region after Kenya.

Kenya plans to close its refugee camp near the Somali border, citing security concerns. (Reporting by Katy Migiro @katymigiro; Editing by Ros Russell; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, property rights and climate change. Visit http://news.trust.org to see more stories.)</s>Nearly half a million Zimbabweans will continue to receive food aid for another six months after the United States provided an extra $20 million to help ease hunger in twelve of the country's districts hit by the worst drought in a generation.

An El Nino-induced drought, that has hit Southern Africa and cut the output of the staple maize crop, has left close to 4 million Zimbabweans needing food aid.

More than 450,000 people, who faced a grim future after a food aid program ended in March, will now continue to receive food or cash until October, when the next rainy season starts, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) said.

The additional $20 million will bring to $55 million the amount provided by the U.S. to feed hungry Zimbabweans since last year in June.

The U.S. is a major humanitarian donor in Zimbabwe but has since 2002 provided aid through agencies like the United Nations World Food Programmes after accusing President Robert Mugabe of vote fraud and human rights abuses. Mugabe rejects the charges.</s>Rebel taxes and seizures drive hungry children out of pre-famine Somalia

NAIROBI, Feb 3 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Thousands of malnourished Somali women and children are fleeing into Ethiopia to escape Islamist militants who are taxing them and seizing their food, animals and land, the United Nations said on Friday, amid fears of renewed famine.

Arrivals into Ethiopia's Dollo Ado camp from Somalia surged in January to more than 100 a day, said the U.N.'s refugee agency, UNHCR, the highest number seen in four years.

"They report being taxed heavily by al Shabaab," said Clementine Awu Nkweta-Salami, UNHCR's country representative in Ethiopia, referring to the Somali militant group.

"In some cases they also report they have had their land confiscated as well as crops and livestock."

The United Nations issued a pre-famine alert on Thursday, with 6.2 million of Somalia's 10 million people needing emergency aid due to conflict and drought.

Al Shabaab, which has been fighting Somalia's Western-backed government for a decade, partially controls Bay and Bakool regions where most of the new arrivals come from.

"No one from the areas under the control of the Mujahideen has gone to Ethiopia," an al Shabaab spokesman said.

"That is a complete fabrication and a political manoeuvre by the UNHCR in order to solicit for donations and secure funds from unsuspecting donors by appealing to their emotions."

Few international agencies work in al Shabaab controlled areas, relying on local charities to deliver aid for them.

"The real question is going to be whether (humanitarians) are going to be able to get enough food and water into those communities in time to prevent a mass exodus," said Charlie Mason, Save the Children's humanitarian director.

A lack of access to food aid was one of the main reasons 260,000 people died in Somalia's 2011 famine.

The United Nations hopes it will have better access than in 2011 as African Union forces have pushed al Shabaab out of the Somali capital, Mogadishu, and other southern strongholds.

"We (now) have the ability to mount operations that can help stabilise rural areas before they fall into famine conditions," Justin Brady, head of the U.N.'s Office for the Coordination for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) told a news conference on Thursday.

Three-quarters of new arrivals in Ethiopia are children, who travel up to 10 days on foot or donkey cart, Nkweta-Salami said.

Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) is screening all children under five on arrival in Ethiopia.

Kate Nolan, head of mission in Ethiopia for MSF, said in the first three weeks of January, 77 percent had global acute malnutrition - five times higher than the WHO's emergency threshold of 15 percent.

The United Nations is revising its projections for new arrivals in Ethiopia, which it predicted last year would be 10,000 refugees in the first four months of 2017.

"If the current arrival pattern continues and we get on average 3,000 a month, then we will reach that 10,000 mark very quickly," said Nkweta-Salami.

More than 200,000 Somali refugees live in Dollo Ado, 70 km (45 miles) from the Somali border, which hosts the second largest Somali refugee population in the region after Kenya.

Kenya plans to close its refugee camp near the Somali border, citing security concerns. (Reporting by Katy Migiro @katymigiro; Editing by Ros Russell; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, property rights and climate change. Visit http://news.trust.org to see more stories.)</s>Animal carcasses littered the fields and stench of dead animals pervaded the air in Kenya's Marsabit County this week, the result of a prolonged period of drought which destructed forage for animals and made local population dependent on handouts to survive.

People in more than half of Kenya's 42 counties face starvation due the cycle of famine related deaths brought about by ongoing drought that has seen an estimated 1.3 million Kenyans acutely food insecure and in need of assistance.

Residents are losing their animals in thousands due to lack of pasture and water and are forced to travel tens of kilometers for the valuable resource.

Kenya Red Cross has stepped in to try and mitigate the situation by carrying out a cash transfer to a population of about 340,000 who are in dire need of aid.

Kenya Red Cross Societies Secretary General Abbas Gullet says the organization is appealing for financial aid to a tune of US$100m.

"Of the one billion, 75% of that is going on the whole issue of cash transfer because we want to give people cash," he said.

The Governor of Marsabit Ukur Yatani, said that Marsabit is the most affected county in terms of the challenges of drought.

"We lost quite a number of livestock, over 60%, serious challenges of water, people are also starving, most schools are closed and the challenges are beyond the county government to manage at the moment," he said.

The drought has seen prices of livestock drop as farmers compete to dispose them of before they are all dead.

Asha Ali, a resident of Marsabit said she had lost more than half her animals and was grateful the Red Cross came calling.

"Since we are out of pasture I will use some of the money for my livestock feed, some I will use for my household, the little I can save will be good for me," Asha Ali said moment after receiving her cash.

Marsabit has experienced three failed rainy seasons and categorized as in alarming stage of drought.

Residents whose only wealth is animals, are hoping the rains will come soon but meteorological department is giving a grim picture urging residents not to expect rain anytime soon.

Kenya's long rains season, from March to May, is critical for the wellbeing of its farmers and livestock herders.

The 2016 long rains were poor, leaving 1.3 million Kenyans in need of food aid, according to the government, which has started distributing maize, beans and rice to hungry people in the worst-affected northern and coastal regions.

This year's long rains are also likely to be poor, with a delayed start and below average rainfall, meteorologists said.
The United Nations and various humanitarian groups call on the international community to help prevent a possible famine in Somalia as rising food prices and drought have left over six million people at risk of starvation.