News
About 2.2 million Somalis facing severe food insecurity as drought conditions worsen
Between July and September 2019, 2.2 million people, almost 18 percent of the total population, are expected to face severe food insecurity.
The projected food insecure caseload is 40 percent higher than the estimate at the beginning of 2019, as drought conditions are severely affecting crop and livestock production and disrupting livelihoods.
Household resilience has been undermined by recurrent climatic shocks, overstretched social support networks and declining humanitarian assistance.
Urgent life saving and livelihood support, including cash and food assistance, are needed to prevent a further worsening of the current humanitarian situation.
In southern key cropping areas, the establishment and development of “Gu” (April-June) season crops, to be harvested in July 2019 and accounting for about 60 percent of the country’s total annual cereal output, have been severely impacted by drought conditions in April and early May.
In the Lower Shabelle Region, which on average accounts for more than 60 percent of the total maize “Gu” output, severe dryness prevailed so far, with scattered below-average rains received only in late April and early May. Vegetation conditions are very poor and, according to FAO’s Agricultural Stress Index (ASI), severe drought conditions are currently affecting between 45 and more than 85 percent of the cropland. In the “sorghum belt” of Bay Region, which on average accounts for about 55 percent of the total sorghum “Gu” output, rains started in the third dekad of April with a delay of more than two weeks and cumulative seasonal precipitations have been so far about 60 percent below average. Here, drought is now affecting 25-55 percent of the cropland. Severe dryness prevailed also in other cropping areas, including the “cowpea belt” in Middle Shabelle, Galgadud and Mudug regions, where cowpea is intercropped with sorghum and 25-85 percent of the cropland is currently affected by severe drought, according to ASI.
In addition, very low water levels in the Shabelle and Juba rivers affected the irrigation of the maize crops in riverine areas. As of late April, according to the FAO Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit (FSNAU)
Somalia and FEWS NET, proper germination occurred only in less than one-third of the area planted to cereals. Precipitations in April and early May are crucial for the performance of the “Gu” crops as, in southern Somalia, they account for more than 50 percent of the cumulative seasonal rains. Rainfall for the remainder of the season, forecast at near-average to average levels, is therefore not expected to significantly improve crop prospects and, according to FSNAU and FEWS NET, the aggregate “Gu” output is forecast to be 40-50 percent below average. The poor 2019 “Gu” harvest would be the second consecutive season with a reduced cereal production, as the 2018/19 “Deyr” harvest, gathered last January, was more than 20 percent below the average due to inadequate precipitations.
Southern agro-pastoral areas and central and northern pastoral areas have been severely affected by the cumulative impact of poor 2018 October-December “Deyr” rains, followed by a harsh January-March 2019 “Jilaal” dry season and by severe dryness during April and early May. Southern Lower Juba, Middle Juba, Gedo and Bakool regions received below-average rains only in late April, while most central and northern regions received almost no precipitations. As a result, rangeland conditions are very poor, widespread pasture and water shortages are reported, and livestock body conditions have declined to poor levels. In central and northern regions, severe animal emaciation prevails and drought-induced livestock diseases, abortions and deaths are reported in central Galgadud and in northern Bari and Sanaag regions. In these areas, herders are unable to provide feed and water for their animals and are culling offspring to save milk-producing females.
Early depletion of cereal stocks, declining employment opportunities and low wage rates in crop-producing areas, shortages of livestock products in pastoral areas, heightened conflict and a reduction in humanitarian assistance since early 2019 are resulting in a sharp deterioration of the food security situation in Somalia. According to FSNAU and FEWS NET, about 2.2 million people are estimated to be severely food insecure (IPC Phase 3: “Crisis” and IPC Phase 4: “Emergency”) between July and September 2019. This figure represents almost 18 percent of the total population and is more than 40 percent higher than the estimate of food insecure people at the beginning of 2019. The areas with the highest levels of food insecurity are central Galgadud and Mudug regions and northern Nugal, Bari, Sool, Sanag, Awdal and Woogoyi Glbeed regions, where IPC Phase 4: “Emergency” levels are expected to prevail.
A deterioration of the nutritional status is also of major concern. In several central and northern areas, the nutrition situation worsened from “Alert” (Global Acute Malnutrition, GAM 5-9.9 percent) to “Serious” (GAM 10-14.9 percent), while in the southern Bay region it deteriorated from “Serious” (GAM 10-14.9 percent) to “Critical” (GAM 15-29.9 percent). In addition, abnormal increases in admissions of acutely malnourished children to therapeutic feeding centers have been reported in several districts of Galgadud, Hiran, Middle Shabelle regions and in the capital, Mogadishu. Recurrent climatic shocks during the last several years, particularly the extended impact of the 2016/17 drought, have undermined households’ resilience and social support networks have become overstretched.
The humanitarian situation in Somalia is extremely critical and an urgent scaling up of life saving and livelihood support, including cash and food assistance, is needed to prevent a further worsening of the current humanitarian situation.
Twelve inmates have escaped from the Federal Correctional Centre in Kotonkarfe, Kogi State, following an early morning jailbreak on Monday.
Confirming the incident, the Kogi State Commissioner for Information, Kingsley Fanwo, described it as “unfortunate” and assured the public that the government, in collaboration with security agencies, was taking measures to prevent a recurrence.
According to Fanwo, law enforcement officers have already re-arrested one of the escapees.
“The theory that the inmates escaped through the tower without causing any structural damage raises serious concerns. This calls for a thorough investigation to determine the exact circumstances of the escape, arrest the fleeing inmates, and identify possible saboteurs within the system,” he stated.
The commissioner further disclosed that Governor Usman Ododo has directed security agencies to ensure that such breaches do not happen again.
“We call on the public to report any suspicious individuals in their communities. Anyone found harbouring an escaped inmate will be held accountable,” Fanwo warned.
Reassuring residents, he added: “There is no cause for panic. We encourage citizens to go about their daily activities as normal, knowing that the security of lives and property remains our top priority.”
Authorities have yet to disclose further details about the escapees or ongoing efforts to apprehend them.
The United States has announced the termination of legal status for over 500,000 immigrants, ordering them to leave the country within weeks, as President Donald Trump pushes forward with what he calls the largest deportation campaign in American history.
The sweeping directive, issued on Friday, affects approximately 532,000 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans who arrived under a programme launched by Trump’s predecessor, Joe Biden, in October 2022 and later expanded in January 2023.
According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the affected immigrants will lose their legal protections 30 days after the order is published in the Federal Register on Tuesday. This means they must leave the United States by 24 April, unless they secure another immigration status permitting them to stay.
Welcome.US, an organisation that supports asylum seekers, has urged those impacted to “immediately” seek legal counsel regarding their options.
A Reversal of Biden’s Immigration Policy
The Processes for Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans, and Venezuelans (CHNV) programme, introduced in January 2023, allowed up to 30,000 migrants per month from these nations to enter the United States for two years. The initiative was designed to offer a “safe and humane” alternative to the dangerous crossings at the US-Mexico border, which had seen a surge in arrivals.
However, the DHS reiterated on Friday that the programme was never meant to provide permanent residency.
“Parole is inherently temporary, and parole alone is not an underlying basis for obtaining any immigration status, nor does it constitute an admission to the United States,” the agency stated.
Mass Deportations Under Trump
Trump, who has made immigration control a cornerstone of his presidency, has vowed to crack down on migrants—particularly those from Latin America.
Last week, he invoked rare wartime legislation to deport more than 200 alleged members of a Venezuelan gang to El Salvador, a country that has controversially offered to imprison both migrants and U.S. citizens at a discounted rate.
The latest order signals Trump’s intent to follow through on his hardline immigration policies, raising concerns among human rights advocates about the humanitarian impact of such mass deportations.
Tens of thousands of malnourished Nigerian children face a dire future as lifesaving food supplies are set to run dry, the United Nations Children’s Agency (UNICEF) warned on Friday, attributing the crisis to a funding shortfall exacerbated by U.S. foreign aid cuts under President Donald Trump’s administration.
The agency said that within the next two months, 80,000 children suffering from severe acute malnutrition in Nigeria could lose access to vital treatment, while a total of 1.3 million children under five in Nigeria and Ethiopia remain at risk of starvation this year.
“Without new funding, we will run out of our supply chain of Ready-to-Use-Therapeutic-Food by May, and that means that 70,000 children in Ethiopia that depend on this type of treatment cannot be served,” UNICEF’s Deputy Executive Director, Kitty Van der Heijden, said in a video press briefing from Abuja. “Interruption to continuous treatment is life-threatening.”
The situation in Nigeria is even more urgent, with UNICEF warning that food supplies for malnourished children could be exhausted as early as the end of this month. Van der Heijden recounted a harrowing experience at a hospital in Maiduguri, where she saw a child so severely malnourished that her skin was peeling off.
U.S. Aid Suspension Escalates Crisis
UNICEF’s funding crisis follows a significant drop in international donor contributions in recent years, compounded by the U.S. government’s decision to halt all foreign aid for 90 days upon Trump’s return to the White House in January.
According to Reuters, the U.S., a major donor to UNICEF, implemented sweeping suspensions on USAID programmes worldwide, disrupting the delivery of essential food and medical aid. The impact has been catastrophic, with global humanitarian efforts thrown into disarray.
“This funding crisis will become a child survival crisis,” Van der Heijden warned, adding that the abrupt nature of the cuts left UNICEF unable to cushion the impact.
Health Services Crippled in Ethiopia
Beyond food shortages, UNICEF highlighted the devastating effects of the funding crunch on health services in Ethiopia. Programmes providing nutrition and malaria care for pregnant women and children have suffered, with 23 mobile health clinics shut down in Afar, leaving only seven operational.
As the crisis unfolds, humanitarian organisations continue to urge global donors to step in and prevent a full-blown catastrophe. Without urgent intervention, tens of thousands of children in Nigeria and Ethiopia may not survive the coming months.
-
News1 week agoIdo LG APC Hails Oseni on FNSE Conferment
-
Education1 week ago
Emmanuel Alayande University Holds 2024/2025 Matriculation March 27
-
News6 days ago
Tinubu Swears in Ibas as Rivers Sole Administrator
-
Politics7 days ago
Fresh N200bn Loan: Oyo APC Accuses Makinde of Pushing State Into Financial Ruin
