Catastrophic famine looms as drought worsens in Somalia: UN

The United Nations (UN) Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and other UN agencies on Tuesday sounded the alarm about the deteriorating food security and nutrition situation in Somalia, saying that the country was on the brink of a devastating famine, reported Xinhua.

Etienne Peterschmitt, the FAO's representative in Somalia, told a press briefing here via video link that in the wake of a historic fourth consecutive failed rainy season, food prices continued to soar in the country and humanitarian assistance remained out of reach for millions of people there.

It is "a perfect storm for famine if action is not taken now," he warned.

According to the FAO official, the latest analyses have shown that 7.1 million people, or 45 percent of Somalia's total population, are in Phase 3 (Crisis) of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC).

Of them, around 2.1 million people are in Phase 4 (Emergency), and around 213,000 people are in Phase 5 (Catastrophe).

With dried-up pastures and water sources, some three million livestock in the country have died in the country since mid-2021 due to droughts and diseases.

Calling for immediate action, El-Khidir Daloum, the World Food Program's (WFP) country director in Somalia, described the situation in Somalia as the worst in four decades.