World / Africa
UN warns Somalia faces overlapping hunger and weather risks
The United Nations warned Nov. 4 that displaced communities in Baidoa, Somalia, faced a risk of famine, citing the latest food-security analysis published in September.
Source-checked brief: attributed UN primary-source account; no on-location reporting.
Famine threatens displaced communities in Baidoa, Somalia, and the country’s humanitarian appeal remains about one-third funded, the United Nations said Nov. 4.
UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said Somalia faces a convergence of crises, including famine risk, conflict and insecurity, political tensions, El Niño-driven flooding and drought. Security in South West State has deteriorated significantly since late September, particularly in the Baidoa and Buur Hakaba districts, uprooting civilians toward Baidoa town and Mogadishu, he said.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification system identified a risk of famine in Buur Hakaba earlier this year, which Dujarric said was averted through a concerted humanitarian response. The latest IPC analysis, published in September, warns that famine now threatens displaced communities in Baidoa, he said. Heavy rains have already triggered flash floods affecting thousands of people, and aid partners have prepositioned supplies and boats in the highest-risk areas.
Aid groups have provided 1.7 million people with at least one form of assistance this year, and UN relief chief Tom Fletcher approved $16 million for Somalia from the Central Emergency Response Fund last month, the spokesman said. Somalia’s $852 million humanitarian response plan for this year is only one-third funded as the year draws to a close, he said.
What we know / what we don't
What we know
- The United Nations warned Nov. 4 that displaced communities in Baidoa, Somalia, faced a risk of famine, citing the latest food-security analysis published in September.
What we don't know
- This brief is based on the attributed UN statement; it is not independent field reporting.
The source record