Somalia’s worst drought in 40 years displaces 1 million people

Expectations of a failed fifth rainy season will worsen the current plight and increase the risk of famine in the Horn of Africa nation, the UN agency said.

Somalia’s worst drought in more than 40 years has internally displaced 1 million people since the dry conditions struck in January 2021, according to the United Nations.

Nunay Mohamed, 25, who fled the drought-stricken Lower Shabelle area, holds her one-year old malnourished child at a makeshift camp for the displaced on the outskirts of Mogadishu, Somalia. (File image) (AP)

This year alone, an estimated 755,000 people fled their homes in search of water, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said in a statement on its website.

The number of Somalians that will face crisis-level hunger is expected to rise to 7 million from 5 million in the coming months, on the back of the effects of climate change and rising food prices caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, UNHCR said.

Expectations of a failed fifth rainy season will worsen the current plight and increase the risk of famine in the Horn of Africa nation, the UN agency said.