Food shortage hit Somalia in Ramadan

Somalis are already facing the intensity of the United Nations warnings earlier this month on a possible severe drought and food shortages in the country.

Prices of fruits and vegetables have increased in the past weeks due to lack of enough rainfall in the holy month of Ramadan. Many inhabitant are finding life unbearable.

“We sell different fruits and the fruits are getting very expensive since the start of Ramadan. The rivers run dry, but now it rains a little bit,” says a fruits store owner, Ahmed Abdulkadir Moallim.

“In previous Ramadan, we used to sell between 5,000 to 6,000 samosas, but today we only sell about 1,200 samosas. This happens because the country is in conflict and there is drought,” says an owner of restaurants and fast food businesses, Ahmed Haji Abukar.

The United Nations warned of a major humanitarian crisis in Somalia in early march.

Severe drought often sweeps East Africa between March and May causing crop failures across the region.

Two million Somalis will be at risk of starvation, if no aid comes in.