Emirates News Agency – UAE continues food distribution to drought-affected people in Somalia

ABU DHABI, 4th October, 2022 (WAM) — The UAE’s relief efforts continue to support the people of Somalia by meeting the needs of more than 2.5 million drought-affected residents.

Last month, a UAE aid vessel carrying more than 1,000 tonnes of food and relief items joined the Emirates Red Crescent Society, the Zayed Charity and Humanitarian Foundation and the Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan Foundation for Humanitarian Work.

Over the past week, drought-related aid distributions have been expanded to include food support to displaced people in the hardest-hit areas, including refugee camps in Mogadishu and Mahas and Mataban districts in Hiran governorate in Hireshabelle district. This was done in coordination with the UAE Relief Agency and the Somali Disaster Management Authority.

Somalia is one of the worst-affected countries in the Horn of Africa, and the region is currently suffering from drought. The drought crisis facing Somalia is the worst in decades and requires international organizations to step up humanitarian efforts to prevent the drought from turning into famine.

The United Nations World Meteorological Organization predicts the country will have its fifth consecutive failed rainy season.

According to estimates by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, more than 7 million Somalis face difficult humanitarian situations and require food assistance.