Somalia: the loss of nearly 700,000 head of livestock causes a hunger crisis

Due to extreme weather conditions such as lack of rainfall in the rainy season and severe drought as a result of the climate crisis, the population of Somalia has lost herds of nearly 700,000 head of livestock as a source of income and food. We need one thing, and that’s rain,” Walter Mauer, communications and advocacy coordinator for CARE in Somalia, said at a media briefing on Wednesday.

7.7 million people need humanitarian assistance. 1.4 million children suffer from acute malnutrition. Another consequence of the climate crisis is water scarcity, which mainly affects the female population – young girls have to stay home from school and look for water.

Rural areas in focus

Due to severe drought, children are mainly housed in camps. Overcrowding in these neighbourhoods, lack of potable water, malnutrition and lack of hygiene measures lead to disease outbreaks. “Behind all these numbers are families, women and children who can no longer go to school,” says Mauer. Add to this a new wave of omicrons, with only 5.6% of the population fully immunized.

The causes of the current emergency are climate change, lack of clean water, as well as social and political conflicts and insecurity. The southern and central regions of Somalia, Puntland and rural areas have been hit hard.