Somalia: Famine Projection

Famine is looming over parts of Somalia and lives of millions are at risk, United Nations warned, calling for immediate scale-up of assistance to devastated rural communities.

Famine is looming over parts of Somalia and lives of millions are at risk, United Nations warned, calling for immediate scale-up of assistance to devastated rural communities.

Parts of Somalia are projected to experience famine as of next month if humanitarian aid is not significantly and immediately scaled up, according to a new food security and nutrition analysis released Monday (5 Sep).

Four failed rainy seasons in a row, combined with increasing food prices, conflict, and COVID-19, have brought the country to “a tipping point” according to the statement, where the number of people in need of urgent humanitarian assistance has increased from 4.1 million at the start of 2022 to 7.1 million people between June and September 2022.

“We have a statement by the independent experts [of the Famine Review Committee] who have validated the analysis, which points to a projection for a famine in two parts of south-central Somalia,” said Rein Paulsen, Director of FAO’s Office of Emergencies and Resilience.

The people facing famine and extreme hunger in Somalia today are overwhelmingly livestock owners and rural families, whose existence depends on the survival of their herds that are dying at alarming rates due to prolonged drought.

“FAO is scaling up its drought response, famine prevention, to meet immediate needs of 1.8 million Somalis,” Paulsen said. “We are doing this through at-scale cash distributions, putting money into the hands of the most vulnerable so they can buy what they need. And importantly, we're doing it through support to animals. We have to keep livestock alive, [providing] animal treatment, animal fodder, water for animals to be able to survive. This is the core part of famine prevention response.”

So far, FAO has reached 333 661 households between January and August this year with lifesaving cash and livelihood assistance, but the scale of current overall assistance and funding from the international community is not yet sufficient to protect those most at risk. FAO remains the agency with the furthest reach and the systems in place to scale up lifesaving assistance in hard-to-reach rural areas at risk of famine thanks to its well-established network of local partners and implementation modalities.

“What is needed now is for FAO and partners to scale up our work in coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia to make sure that attention comes at scale to the most vulnerable communities,” Paulsen said. “We have to work on resilience at the same time as we work on a scaled up emergency response. Famine can be prevented, but only with urgent response at scale.”

FAO Somalia urgently requires more than USD 270 million to assist 1.8 million people across 52 districts with immediate lifesaving and livelihood safeguarding support. Funding levels, however, remain low, at about 22 percent.

“That is unacceptable. Famine will happen later this year unless donors give more funding to FAO and to other key parts of the system for this meaningful inter-sectoral response,” Paulsen said.

 During the previous famine in Somalia in 2011, about half of 250 000 of total deaths occurred before the famine was officially declared. At least half of victims were children.

A famine is declared when an area has at least 20 percent of households facing an extreme lack of food, at least 30 percent of children suffering from acute malnutrition, and two people for every 10,000 dying each day due to outright starvation or to the interaction of malnutrition and disease.

TRT: 2:53

SOURCE: FAO

RESTRICTIONS: PLEASE CREDIT FAO ON SCREEN

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: 5 SEPTEMBER 2022, ROME, ITALY / RECENT, SOMALIA

SHOTLIST:

15 JULY 2022, DOLOW, SOMALIA

1. Wide shot, huts in a internally displaced people camp
2. Med shot, displaced women and children sitting on the ground
3. Close up, baby drinking from cup

JANUARY 2022, BELETWEYNE, SOMALIA

1. Wide shot, two women and a man standing over an animal carcass
2. Close up, animal carcass
3. Wide shot, man standing over an animal carcass

5     SEPTEMBER 2022, ROME, ITALY

1. SOUNDBITE (English) Rein Paulsen, Director of the Office of Emergencies and Resilience, FAO:

“We have a statement by a group of independent experts who have validated the analysis done, which points to a projection for a famine in two parts of south-central Somalia.”

15 JULY 2022, DOLOW, SOMALIA

6     Wide shot, displaced with their belonging on carts moving towards camera

7     Tracking shot, displaced children walking

5 SEPTEMBER 2022, ROME, ITALY

8     SOUNDBITE (English) Rein Paulsen, Director of the Office of Emergencies and Resilience, FAO:

“FAO is scaling up its drought response, famine prevention, to meet immediate needs of 1.8 million Somalis. We are doing this through at-scale cash distributions, putting money into the hands of the most vulnerable so they can buy what they need. And importantly, we're doing it through support to animals. We have to keep livestock alive; animal treatment, animal fodder, water for animals to be able to survive. This is the core part of famine prevention response.”

JANUARY 2022, BELETWEYNE, SOMALIA

9     Wide shot, two girls herding goats

10  Med shot, a shepherd giving his animals water to drink

11  Close up, a goat drinking water

5 SEPTEMBER 2022, ROME, ITALY

12  SOUNDBITE (English) Rein Paulsen, Director of the Office of Emergencies and Resilience, FAO:

“What is needed now is for FAO and partners to scale up our work in coordination with the Federal Government of Somalia to make sure that attention comes at scale to the most vulnerable communities. We have to work on resilience at the same time as we work on a scaled up emergency response. Famine can be prevented, but only with urgent response at scale.”

15 JULY 2022, DOLOW, SOMALIA

13  Wide shot, women sitting

14  Med shot, women sitting

5 SEPTEMBER 2022, ROME, ITALY

15  SOUNDBITE (English) Rein Paulsen, Director of the Office of Emergencies and Resilience, FAO:

16  “That is unacceptable. Famine will happen later this year unless donors give more funding to FAO and to other key parts of the system for this meaningful inter-sectoral response.”

15 JULY 2022, DOLOW, SOMALIA

17  Med shot, displaced woman sitting with her two children, talking

18  Pan right, displaced children sitting

19  Med shot, children walking through camp