Somali Prime Minister, Hamza Abdi Barre has yesterday chaired a meeting with the National Drought Relief Committee and the prominent business leaders in Mogadishu as Somalia braces itself for a looming famine.
According to Somali state media, the meeting focused on speeding up drought relief efforts and reviewing how aid was distributed since the committee last met in mid-August.
Interior Minister Ahmed Moallim Fiqi said that the Federal government sent 26 tons of food to the towns of Beledweyne and Buulo Burde on August 23. On September 4, the government delivered 20 tons of food to Baidoa and Hudur.
In addition, the government said it sent $75,000 to the rural community in Mahas district to repair the water wells in the region.
The meeting comes hours after the UN’s top humanitarian official, Martin Griffiths, warned of a humanitarian catastrophe in drought-stricken Somalia, claiming the country is on the verge of famine for the second time in a decade.
“Famine is at the door, and today we are receiving a final warning. I have been shocked to my core these past few days by the level of pain and suffering we see so many Somalis enduring,” Griffiths said at the end of his five-day visit to Somalia,” Griffiths said.
“I repeat: This is a final warning to all of us. The situation and trends resemble those seen in 2010-2011 in that crisis. Except now they are worse.”
Griffiths added that decades of conflict, poor governance, mass displacement and a record fifth failed rainy season is pushing millions towards famine.
Baidoa, in Southwest State, has been described as the “epicentre” of the humanitarian crisis.
