According to a recent report, Somalia is on the brink of its worst famine in half a century as drought intensifies and global food prices soar, leaving hundreds of thousands of people at risk of dying from starvation.
Key points
- The United Nations has warned that parts of the country will be hit by famine in the coming weeks.
- The projection is it will be more severe than in 2011, when famine killed more than a quarter of a million people there, about half of them children.
- Climate change is the main reason, say aid workers. Somalia – and parts of neighbouring Ethiopia and Kenya – are facing the fifth failed rainy season in a row.
How a famine is declared?
Famine is declared in an area when severe hunger is already widespread, and when people have started dying of starvation because they do not have enough nutritious food. According to the United Nations, the affected area must meet three conditions: –
- 1. At least 20% of the population is facing extreme food shortages,
- 2. At least 30% of children are suffering from acute malnutrition,
- 3. At least two people out of every 10,000 inhabitants are dying each day due to starvation, or a combination of severe hunger and illness.
Political decision
- The decision to declare a famine is generally made jointly by the government and the United Nations.
- A famine declaration can be politically contentious as governments may see it as a blight on their rule and an opportunity for opponents to point to a failure of governance and an inability to provide basic protection.
