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- About half a million children in Somalia need treatment for severe acute malnutrition.
- Approximately 6.7 million Somalians could face acute food insecurity between October and December.
- Pastoralists are hopelessly watching their livestock "drop dead like flies".
In a few weeks, with no immediate help, the worst famine crisis to hit Somalia since the turn of the millennium will start affecting almost 7 million people.
The United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef), World Food Programme (WFP), and Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) have warned that "it's a pending nightmare we have not seen this century".
According to Unicef data, in 2011, the famine in Somalia resulted in about 340 000 children needing treatment for severe acute malnutrition.
But this time around, the number has sharply increased.
"Today, it's 513 000 [children]," said Unicef spokesperson James Elder.
According to FAO, approximately 6.7 million Somalians will likely face acute food insecurity between October and December this year.
Already about 300 000 people have been left "empty-handed, and they face famine.
Losing livestock
Livestock is the backbone of the Somalian economy. Pastoralists sell cattle, goats, and camels in the southern regions of Somalia. Buyers then export them to the Middle East. But too many animals have died, and communities have lost their only source of livelihood and income.
Etienne Peterschmitt, FAO representative in Somalia, said livestock were dropping dead, and pastoralists could do nothing about it.
"They are now watching their livestock drop dead like flies," he said.
Many people have been displaced by the crisis.
"The repeated warnings have been clear: act now or a famine will occur within the next few weeks."
Peterschmitt said:
Children the hardest hit
Children have no access to healthcare as health facilities are oversubscribed with a lack adequate medicines.
"Children are already dying. Our partners report that some stabilisation centres are in fact full, and critically-ill children are receiving treatment on the floor," said Elder.
The only immediate solution to this is greater funding so that more severe and acutely malnourished children can be given lifesaving food, which will make them strong enough to ward off diseases, just like healthier youngsters, Elder added.
Malnourished children were fragile, he added.
"This is not just about nutrition. Severely malnourished children are in fact up to 11 times more likely to die from things like diarrhoea and measles than well-nourished boys and girls," Elder said.
The News24 Africa Desk is supported by the Hanns Seidel Foundation. The stories produced through the Africa Desk and the opinions and statements that may be contained herein do not reflect those of the Hanns Seidel Foundation.
