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Hargeysa, Jul 13, 2012 (UN Integrated Regional Information Networks/All
Africa Global Media via COMTEX) --
Hargeysa, Somaliland, July 14, 2012 – About 120,000 people in the
coastal, mid- and far western regions of the republic of Somaliland
require emergency food assistance after four years of failed rains, says
Mohamed Mousa Awale, chairman of Somaliland's environment research and
disaster preparedness agency.
"We are calling on the international community to help these needy
people to save lives," he said.
The most affected areas include the Salel Region localities of Asha-Ado,
Lughaya, Garba-Dadar, Gargaara and Waraqa-dhigta where some 450 tons of
food aid from Djibouti was distributed on 6 July.
"People [have] gathered in the villages after they lost [all] their
animals during the four-year drought," said Sa'ad Ahmed Abdillahi, a
member of Zaila District Council. Zaila is the capital of Salel in
western Somaliland near the border with Djibouti.
Abdillahi said thousands of former pastoralists in Salel had migrated to
areas such as Abdul-Kadir, Asha-Ado, Cel-Gal and Harirad which
previously had some remaining water sources. "Now... there are thousands
of families in search of a livelihood. These people have no shelter,
food or even medical care."
The four-year drought has caused human deaths, too. "We believe that
about 500 mothers lost their lives during [childbirth] because they were
malnourished and about 1,500 children died from malnutrition in the four
years," added Abdillahi.
Previously, people were able to cope by exchanging some of their
livestock for food.
Remittances had also played a role. "Families who have relatives abroad
can survive [for] some time, but now it seems that the problem is
getting beyond the money that the diaspora Somalilanders send back
home," said Sayid Omar, chairman of the Awdal region-based Africa Youth
Development Association.
Appeals for help
The village of Garbadadar in the Golis mountains, 125km northwest of
Hargeysa, is now hosting several hundred drought-displaced families.
"We came here to search for a livelihood or get support from the
government of Somaliland, citizens or international aid workers because
we lost our animals. But we are yet to get any; now we are relying on
local people's support," Mohamed Hassan, a father of five, told
journalists.
"We get some food sometimes, and sometimes we [do] not. We hope the
Almighty Allah will help us," said Amina Omar, a mother of three.
In a 24 June statement, Somaliland president Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud (Sillanyo)
appealed for help in responding to the drought: "It is estimated that up
to 20,000 households have been affected. These people require emergency
assistance in food, water, medical care and shelter. If we do not
respond and attend to their needs immediately, we might lose many of
them, particularly the most vulnerable, the young and the old, to
starvation and dehydration."
Day-time temperatures in the coastal areas of Somaliland exceed 40
degrees Celsius at this time of year. Somaliland has experienced
worsening drought since March.
A May-June update by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization's Food
Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit expressed concern about the plight
of pastoralists with sheep or goats along parts of the Indian Ocean
coastline which received poor to no rainfall. A third consecutive failed
'Hays' rainy season (December-February) in the Guban area of Awdal
region and in the Waqooyi Galbeed region led to a large outmigration of
livestock to the nearby Golis mountains.
maj/aw/cb
Source: IRIN
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