ay to neighboring countries. Shockingly, those who make it out are the lucky ones; many more within Somalia are too poor or too weak to leave.
The U.S. could easily take a first step toward improving the situation by drastically ramping up humanitarian support to hard-hit northern and central Somalia, which remain outside militant rule. In the militant-controlled areas of southern Somalia, the situation is bleaker. There may be a way forward, but it will require flexibility from both sides. In the past, the U.S. has allowed food aid programs in politically sensitive areas with tightly controlled monitoring to ensure that food reaches its intended recipients. The militants in the south have just announced that they are willing to allow international relief groups to return, though the full details of this announcement are still being explored. If this looks like a serious opening, the State-Treasury "safety valve" that I mentioned earlier would enable the US to restart aid — if the U.S. government felt inclined to use it.
If the militants in southern Somalia prove willing to allow open access for humanitarian groups, including robust monitoring, will the U.S. government be open to restarting aid? Or will several million people be consigned to starvation?
Editor's note: This article originally appeared on The Huffington Post.