According to a report released by the United Nations on Tuesday, Somalia is currently grappling with significant food insecurity, affecting 4.6 million people who are experiencing shortages of essential food supplies.
Stéphane Dujarric, the spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, told reporters that "1.8 million children under five are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition this year."
Dujarric noted that food assistance has been reduced by half compared to the previous year, and nearly 150 clinics have been affected. This situation has left "hundreds of thousands of individuals without access to vital healthcare services."
The plight of a growing number of Somalis struggling to provide for their children is intensified by the anguish of health workers observing the withdrawal of hundreds of millions in U.S. support during the Trump administration.
Dr. Abdiqani Sheikh Omar, the former director general of the Ministry of Health and currently a government advisor, stated in earlier reports by AP that the U.S. Agency for International Development had once provided 65% of Somalia's foreign aid.
A significant portion of that financial support has now disappeared.
A U.S. State Department spokesperson informed the AP that numerous lifesaving USAID humanitarian assistance programs, including those offering food and nutrition support to children, are active in Somalia. They emphasized their commitment to maintaining these programs as control shifts to the State Department on July 1.
Aid workers are worried because the U.S. has not specified which programs are considered lifesaving or whether any remaining funding will persist after July 1.
Dujarric expressed concerns shared by UN partners that the funding gap could exacerbate Somalia's humanitarian crisis. He pointed out that "The $1.4 billion Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan for Somalia has received only 15 percent of its required funds, with just $222 million currently available."
Post a Comment