Mogadishu – As Somalia struggles with a crippling drought and a gruelling Islamist war, visiting UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres made a “massive” appeal for international assistance on Tuesday.
Guterres hailed his journey as one of “solidarity” as he landed in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, earlier on Tuesday.
In addition, he stated, “I am here to ring the alarm on the need for massive international support,” referring to the challenges the nation faces as it battles militancy and natural catastrophes.
“Even though they have little influence on climate change, Somalis are among its worst victims. According to him, there are close to five million individuals who are severely food insecure.
While a devastating drought grips Somalia and pushes many people to the verge of famine, the government is also waging a major offensive against the Al-Qaeda-affiliated Al-Shabab Islamist rebel group.
The Horn of Africa country is in need of humanitarian assistance, and the UN has launched a $2.6 billion appeal, but according to Guterres, just 15% of that amount has been raised.
The greatest drought in four decades, which has destroyed cattle and crops and compelled at least 1.7 million people to flee their homes in search of food and water, has been brought on by five consecutive failed rainy seasons in portions of Somalia, Kenya, and Ethiopia.
Although famine thresholds have not been reached in Somalia, the UN estimates that 8.3 million people will be affected by the drought and that roughly half of the country’s population would need humanitarian aid this year.
More than half of the 260,000 people who died in the 2011 famine in Somalia were children under the age of six. According to the UN, this was in part because the international community did not intervene quickly enough.
Al-Shabab, which has been fighting the frail central government for more than 15 years, was named the target of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud’s “all-out war” last year.
