Nearly 6 million Somalis need aid this year: UN

Somalis displaced by drought are seen at the Ladan camp in Dolow, Somalia, on May 1, 2023. (AFP file)
Short Url
  • Somalia is currently facing “widespread dry conditions following poor October to December rains,” says UN humanitarian agency OCHA said

UNITED NATIONS: Nearly six million people in Somalia, almost a third of the country’s population, need humanitarian aid this year, the United Nations said Wednesday as it launched a $1.43 billion funding appeal.
The Horn of Africa nation is one of the world’s poorest, enduring decades of civil war, a bloody insurgency by the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabab, and frequent climate disasters.
“Somalia continues to face a complex, protracted humanitarian crisis,” a statement from the UN humanitarian agency OCHA said, citing a range of issues from conflict to “climate shocks.”

 

The country is currently facing “widespread dry conditions following poor October to December rains,” OCHA said.
The funding appeal launched Monday with the Somali government aims “to support some 4.6 million of the most vulnerable people in the country,” it added.