UN Relief Chief Martin Griffiths has visited Somalia’s South West state, which is in the grip of a severe drought. More than a million people have already been displaced as a result of the drought.
In his first visit to Somalia, the most drought-affected country in the Horn of Africa, United Nations Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths said the country needs global assistance to combat the worst drought in 40 years.
Griffiths said it is “almost unimaginable” that Baidoa is sheltering 750,000 displaced people during a news conference after meeting with South West state President Abdiasiis Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen.
The drought in Somalia, which has devastated 90% of the country, has already displaced over 1 million people, and 7.8 million more require humanitarian assistance.
The United Nations relief chief praised the Baidoa community for its efforts to assist the displaced.
“One more point, we fear that the worst is yet to come, that we will see exponentially increasing need, that Baidoa and this South West state will require the charity generosity and priority of the world because of the scale of suffering that we anticipate,” he said.
Griffiths said in a brief statement on Twitter after the visit that he saw babies too weak to cry and mothers who are still children themselves.
“The international community’s silence is deafening,” he wrote.
South West state President Laftagareen, for his part, welcomed the United Nations delegation’s visit.
He claims they discussed current issues such as drought relief efforts and how drought-affected people can be helped. They also discussed ways to provide emergency relief in the state of South West.
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs Somalia office, food prices in the country have risen and hunger is on the rise.
According to the report, “catastrophic” levels of food insecurity have been confirmed for the first time since 2017, with 213,000 people living in famine-like conditions.
According to UNICEF, drought-related malnutrition has already killed 500 children in Somalia.
Somalia declared a national emergency last year due to a three-year drought.
The drought has also killed over 2 million livestock and affected 28% of the country’s total livestock population, according to the prime minister’s office.