About 1.5 million people in Somalia have been affected by a severe drought crisis that has triggered the already worse conditions of food scarcity in the nation, according to the United Nations health agency.
What is even more alarming is the fact that out of those 1.5 million people, more than 400,000 are malnourished children.
The United Nations World Health Organization’s (WHO) Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, Dr Mahmoud Fikri, while expressing grave concern over the issue commented, “Somalia is now at a critical point as a result of this drought and environmental hazards and lack of basic services.”
However, the UN agency said that it is providing “all possible support” in the form of medicines and other medical supplies, by sending rapid response teams to the areas that face the greatest threat.
The UN has launched an appeal for $825 million for the first half of 2017 for the pre-famine response, out of which the health sector requires $85 million. This comes in the wake of reports of more than 6,000 cases of cholera and 2,500 cases of suspected measles.
