FAO: Over 2.6 Million Somalis Need Food Assistance
Posted on: Tuesday, 20 May 2008, 09:00 CDT
The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned on Monday that more than 2.6 million Somalis need food assistance because of the deteriorating humanitarian situation triggered by skyrocketing food prices, the weak currency and worsening drought.
The UN food agency said the figure, comprising 35 percent of the Horn of Africa nation's population, is in need of assistance, an increase of more than 40 percent since January of this year
The increase in needs is due mainly to the addition of 600,000 urban poor, who are struggling to meet their household food needs in the face of rapidly increasing food and basic commodity prices, according to a recent assessment of FAO's Food Security Analysis Unit (FSAU) for Somalia.
FAO's Chief Technical Adviser for Somalia Cindy Holleman warned that half of Somalia's total population could face an acute food and livelihood crisis by the end of the year if the seasonal rains are greatly below normal, food prices continue to soar and civil insecurity worsens.
"It's an extremely worrying situation," she said.
Violence has also forced nearly 900,000 people to flee the capital Mogadishu, bringing the total number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Somalia to 1 million.
Compounding the problem is the delayed and worse-than-expected Gu seasonal rains, resulting in a potentially poor cereal harvest which will lead to shortages and push prices higher.
Due to two consecutive seasons of poor rains, 60,000 pastoralists require food aid in the country, which has not had a functioning national government since 1991.
Cereal prices have surged by as much as 375 percent in the past year, reaching historic levels.
Somalia is a net importer of cereals, and prices will remain at record highs due to the combination of climbing international prices, the sharp devaluation of the Somali shilling by more than 125 percent in the last four months.
Source: Xinhua News Agency - CEIS
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