Thousands of Somalis flee their homes in search of food as famine looms

Over 3,000 people are fleeing their homes daily in search of food and water in urban cities due to Somalia’s worst drought in 20 years.

The Al-Adala camp in the capital, Mogadishu has seen an increase in the number of people arriving at the camp in recent weeks.

When Nalo Nuura Musdhaf, a displaced civilian lost her child and other members of her family to hunger she decided to leave her home in the Lower Shabelle region to find food for the rest of the family.

The twenty-six-year-old arrived at the camp on March 25th, with her three daughters and son.

“Since the drought begun, I have lost my daughter, my uncle and my grandfather. I left home with the family after they died. There was too much hunger, there was no water to drink or for washing. That is why we left,” she said.
Her husband decided to stay behind to take care of the homestead and also recover from an undisclosed illness.

Musdhaf and her children are among the 295 families who arrived recently at Al-Adala, joining the 1,114 already living in the camp.

“It was not like this; in 2011 we had some water flowing in the river. But in this drought, there is no water, no food and there is absolutely nothing to eat. Even finding water to drink is a challenge. However in 2011 we had some water in the wells but now the wells have dried up,” Musdhaf added.

More than 6 million Somalis, half of the population – need emergency aid, including close to 1 million acutely malnourished children.

According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Thousands are also fleeing to neighboring Ethiopia, where drought is also causing immense hardship, with more than 100,000 people displaced since the start of the year.