New food security assessments indicate that 4.4 million people – nearly a quarter of the population – could face “crisis” levels of food insecurity (IPC Phase 3 or higher) between April and June 2025, marking a sharp increase from 3.4 million people currently experiencing acute hunger. “Worsening drought, erratic rainfall and ongoing conflict are eroding livelihoods,...
(ERGO) – Two consecutive failed rainy seasons have unleashed devastating drought across Mudug region, plunging families into a desperate fight for survival. Malnutrition, acute water scarcity, and the burden of debt have combined to leave communities on the brink of starvation. Abdirisak Yusuf Ali and his family of 17 have been struggling to get meals, forcing...
(ERGO) – Hundreds of families from villages in southern Somalia’s Bakool region have been forced to abandon their homes and farms due to severe drought and crop failure. Many are now living in desperate conditions in camps near the town of Hudur. Among them is Hassan Abdinor Ali, 60, who recently moved his family to Mora-Shinle...
By Mohamed Olad Hassan, VOA WASHINGTON — A study finds that severe drought plaguing parts of Somalia since 2022 has killed at least 71,000 people beyond the number expected. About 40% of the lives lost were children under the age of 5, said the study, commissioned by the U.N. Children’s Fund, the World Health Organization and Somalia’s...
SOMALI REGION, Ethiopia – In support of areas that have been severely affected by the El Niño-induced drought, UNFPA handed over reproductive health medicines, equipment and supplies to support Basic and Comprehensive Obstetric and Newborn care services at four health centres plus Sitti Zonal Hospital in the Somali Region. The supplies included 15 delivery coaches,...
(ERGO) – Jinay Ishak Hassan, a 57-year-old widow, is trying to support her 11 children alone on the barren site where the family arrived on 10 June outside Baidoa, after they fled their drought-ruined farm. Jinay’s family had planted their crops in March on their farm in Mintanyo, a village 20 km south of Baidoa, but...
Mother of nine, Madino Ibrahim Hasan, a seasoned farmer with 23 years’ experience, is confronting the harsh realities of food shortage and homelessness for the first time, as severe drought hit their farm in southern Somalia’s Bay region. She has sought refuge at Buulo-keerow camp on the outskirts of Baidoa, where around 200 families including...
KAJIADO, Kenya (AP) — The blood, milk and meat of cattle have long been staple foods for Maasai pastoralists in Kenya, perhaps the country’s most recognizable community. But climate change is forcing the Maasai to contemplate a very different dish: fish. A recent yearslong drought in Kenya killed millions of livestock. While Maasai elders hope the troubles are...
Farhiyo Ali Yusuf, a displaced pastoralist, was relieved to be able to deliver her third baby comfortably in the new hospital in the remote Beli-we’atay village in northern Somalia’s Bari region. The positive experience reminded her of the pain she had to endure travelling 60 kilometres to the nearest health facility in the town of...
(ERGO) – Farming families in Dhardhaar village in central Somalia’s Mudug region are struggling to recover from crop losses caused by flash flooding last year that came on top of years of devastating drought. Abdi Isse Ereg was among the local farmers who planted in September 2023 when seasonal deyr rainfall arrived, giving hope that the...