Mogadishu, 14 April, 2022 / 8:30 pm (ACI Africa).
Extreme hunger is ravaging various parts of Somalia’s Gedo region, an official of the overseas development agency of the Catholic Bishops of Ireland, Trócaire, has said, warning that the situation, which is caused by climate change might worsen if urgent action is not taken.
In a Thursday, April 7 report, Trócaire Somalia Country Manager, Paul Healy, says that what is happening on the ground is devastating and that the challenge of maternal and child birth together with the hunger crisis has made the situation worse.
“Severe hunger has taken hold and it will get much worse in the coming months unless urgent action is taken,” Mr. Healy says in the report.
He adds that at Dollow referral health center in Gedo, for instance, an average of 110 babies are delivered and discharged within 24 hours, a situation he says is common in the horn of Africa and makes the hunger situation dire as the children are vulnerable.
“These are times of great hunger. Children are the most vulnerable. There is limited access to food, and food prices are rising, predisposing families and their children to severe malnutrition,” Mr. Healy says.