SOMALI DROUGHT WORSENING, DRIVING HERDERS WITH LIVESTOCK INTO CAPITAL, UN SAYS

SOMALI DROUGHT WORSENING, DRIVING HERDERS WITH LIVESTOCK INTO CAPITAL, UN SAYS
The drought is worsening in many parts of strife-torn Somalia, with
herders reported to be moving into Mogadishu, the capital, with their
livestock for the first time ever due to lack of pasture and water,
the United Nations reported today.

In the south-western Gedo region, where the situation is reportedly
critical, water, food and medical aid are said to be the priority
needs for the drought-affected population, the UN Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.

The Horn of Africa nation, which has not had a functioning central
government since 1991 and has been torn apart by decades of conflict
and factional strife, is already facing a dire humanitarian crisis in
which 3.2 million people, more than 40 per cent of the population, is
in need of aid.

According to field and media reports, many people are arriving on the
outskirts of Mogadishu every day, mainly from Middle and Lower
Shabelle regions. The exact number of those displaced by the drought
is not yet available but recent UN High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR) reports put the number at 12,000 at least. Some families have
started selling their assets to get money for transport to refugee
camps in neighbouring Kenya and Ethiopia.

An inter-agency assessment is to be conducted in the southwest part of
Mogadishu to assess humanitarian needs, including the number of people
affected and priority areas of response.

In response to the increased needs for both the host community and
people displaced by drought as well as continued conflicts in the
central regions, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) has scaled up its
aid, adding 105,400 additional displaced and nearly 20,000 new
beneficiaries from host communities for the January food distribution.

WFP is currently targeting some 2.5 million people for food aid across
Somalia, although 625,000 of those are in areas where operations are
currently suspended due to pressure from Al-Shabaab Islamist militants
in the south. In 2009, WFP reached 3.3 million people in Somalia with
food supplies.