Somalia not at famine levels till December — UN agencies
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Roshan Amiri
- . December 13, 2022
- . Update: December 13, 2022 9:09 pm
Despite the fact that the situation in Somalia is still dire, food insecurity and acute malnutrition have not reached “IPC Phase 5 Famine” levels between October and December 2022, according to Tuesday’s report from UN agencies and relief organisations.
The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), which establishes the international benchmark for judging the severity of food emergencies, released the assessment.
Humanitarian groups have been warning for months that the Bay region of Somalia was in danger of becoming hungry due to the effects of a two-year drought, increased grain prices globally, and a protracted Islamist insurgency.
According to a study by the IPC, the level of food insecurity and acute malnutrition has not yet reached famine-like proportions despite the remarkable response efforts of humanitarian actors and local populations.
The IPC stated that “the fundamental crisis has not improved and even more awful outcomes are only momentarily prevented.” Long-term harsh weather patterns have caused widespread population displacement and an excess of mortality overall.
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In a report, the IPC stated that from October to December, 214,000 persons in Somalia were categorised as being in IPC Phase 5 Catastrophe.
According to the report, this was projected to increase to 322,000 in January through March and 727,000 in April through June despite a projected decrease in funds for humanitarian aid.
According to the IPC, Phase 5 Famine was expected to strike agropastoral populations in Baidoa and Burhakaba districts as well as displaced people in Baidoa town in the Bay region and in Mogadishu between April and June.
The research also noted that acute malnutrition and death rates among these population groups are already very high. More than a quarter of a million people perished in Somalia’s most recent famine in 2011.
Some humanitarian workers have cautioned that the current situation could be worse than it was in 2011. The Somali countryside has been destroyed by the drought, leaving behind shrivelled crops and the remains of malnourished cattle scattered around the scrublands.
