Somalia: Over 2.6 Million Could Go Hungry, UN Agency Warns

More than 2.6 million Somalis – comprising 35 per cent of the Horn of Africa nation’s population – need food assistance due because of the deteriorating humanitarian situation triggered by skyrocketing food prices, the weak currency and worsening drought, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) cautioned today.

Violence has also forced nearly 900,000 people from the capital Mogadishu, bringing the total number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Somalia to 1 million.

Compounding the problem is the delayed and worse-than-expected Gu seasonal rains, resulting in a potentially poor cereal harvest which will lead to shortages and push prices higher.

AllAfrica