Somalia is in the midst of its most catastrophic drought since 1950. Some 3.2 million people face emergency levels of food insecurity. And that is causing massive population displacement.
Today’s map comes from the European Union’s Emergency Response Coordination center. It depicts the nexus between drought and displacement in Somalia. As you can see from the map, when food is scarce people flee their homes in search of sustenance.
In the last 5 months alone, half a million more people in Somalia have become severely affected by the drought.This is having all kinds of society-wide consequences. From Save the Children:
“Across the country an estimated three-quarters of all livestock have died, destroying livelihoods and leaving families without one of their main food sources. When families are subsequently forced to leave home, a new crisis emerges, where their needs increase from needing food and water, to children also dropping out of school and requiring additional protection.
In addition, a Cholera / Acute Watery Diarrhoea (AWD) outbreak remains a huge concern, as it can kill a vulnerable child quickly if left untreated. If children already suffer from severe acute malnutrition, they are nine times more likely to die if Cholera / AWD takes hold. A similar deadly trend was established in Somalia during the 2011 famine, when the biggest child killers were diarrhoea and measles. Save the Children is expecting to see high child mortality rates in the weeks ahead if the risk of Cholera / AWD is not urgently tackled. The charity’s Emergency Health Unit has been deployed to the epicentre of the Cholera outbreak, in Baidoa, to respond to the outbreak.”
Somalia is one of four countries facing famine. You can learn more about this global emergency here.