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ICRC distributes food supplies to Somalis affected by drought

Xinhua, April 15, 2016 Adjust font size:

An international relief agency said Friday it's currently distributing rice, beans and cereals to nearly 60,000 people affected by a debilitating drought in the northern parts of Somalia.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Somali Red Crescent Society said the food supplies that were distributed around Bari, Nugaal, Sool and Sanag is expected to last one month, well into the Gu rains expected between April and June.

"These shocks compound the vulnerability that already exists for people living in a region of conflict," head of ICRC's Somalia delegation Jordi Raich Curco said in a statement received in Mogadishu.

The organization began the food distributions on April 7 because of the deteriorating situation for families dealing with drought.

The statement came after the United Nations appealed for 105 million U.S. dollars to provide humanitarian and livelihood assistance to some 1.7 million people, most of them pastoralists and agro-pastoralists who make up three quarters of the population in Somaliland and Puntland.

According to the UN, some 385,000 need immediate assistance, while another 1.3 million are on the brink of slipping into a deeper crisis if rains continue to fail and aid is too slow to come.

The agency said malnutrition-related deaths have been reported in areas such as the Awdal region bordering Ethiopia in addition to increased malnutrition cases and enrollment in nutrition programs in the most affected areas.

Below-average rains during the Deyr rainy season made the situation worse causing livestock prices to fall. This has caused a shortfall in household incomes in the drought-hit areas.

The Horn of Africa nation experiences dry seasons every year, when water ways go dry and boreholes often become the only source of water. Residents often must pay money for the use of the boreholes, using up families' limited resources.

"This year the dry season has been very tough. Now water from boreholes is much more expensive. Our food distribution means that these families will have to spend less money on food so they can afford to buy water," said Fernando Resta, the head of ICRC's water projects in Somalia. Endit