UN: Somalia drought causing catastrophic emergency

The U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Somalia warned on Tuesday the country was undergoing a "catastrophic emergency" due to the most severe drought in the nation's history.

Speaking during a joint meeting of the League of Arab States and the United Nations, Adam Abdelmoula said Somalia was suffering from its fifth consecutive failed rainy season with a sixth failed season predicted for next year.

He outlined the situation which has left nearly half of the Somalian population affected by drought.

"As we gather here today, approximately 7.8 million Somalis, and that is nearly half of its population, have been affected by the drought and nearly 1.3 million people have been displaced since January 2021," he said.

He added 6.7 million people were expected to face high levels of "acute food insecurity".

A rare famine declaration could be made soon, the first significant one anywhere in the world since Somalia’s famine a decade ago.

As the world is gripped by food insecurity, Somalia, a country of 15 million people shaking off its past as a failed state, can be considered the end of the line.

The nation of proud pastoralists that have survived generations of drought now stumbles amid several global crises descending at once.