Somalia has declared a state of humanitarian emergency as drought ravages 80 percent of the country, leaving more than two million people short of food and water. Somali Prime Minister Mohamed Hussein Roble, who declared the emergency, appealed for an urgent response. The situation is very dire and there is a need for an immediate response, the prime minister added. Badia Moalim Osman is among thousands of Somali pastoralists who lost their livestock in the escalating drought. The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization warns food insecurity is projected to worsen significantly through May 2022, with many households experiencing widening food consumption gaps and erosion of their coping capacity if expected rains fail again.
SOURCE: VOA