UN’s Guterres speaks with Somalis forced to flee to IDP camps as drought worsens
By
Mohamed Sheikh Nor
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April 13, 2023 14:40
UN Sec-Gen. Antonio Guterres visits an IDP camp in Somalia on 11 April 2023 (photo by: Mohamed Sheikh Nur)
Somalia is currently grappling with its worst humanitarian crisis in 40 years, owing to five consecutive failed rain seasons. A major impact of this drought has been felt in the farming-rich areas of the south where much of the population depends on land cultivation and livestock raising. As a result, tens of thousands of people left their homes and began setting up tents on the outskirts of urban cities in search of a better life.
The failed rains have so far left five million people with acute food shortages and nearly two million children at risk of malnutrition. In a March 2023 report, released by the government and UN agencies highlighting the situation, it is estimated that about 43,000 people died in 2022 with the majority being under the age of five.
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