Areas around the Somali-Kenyan border have been experiencing severe drought conditions since the middle of this year. Land desertification has spread to the Lower Juba region, having decimated the green pastures of eastern Kenya and in particular the Somali region of Anfadi (also known as the North Eastern Province of Kenya) .

The drought has already resulted in the starvation of a 12-year-old child, and hundreds of head of cattle have perished, raising fears of a famine similar to the one that hit the country in 2011, in which 250,000 Somalis are dead in the south and central regions of the country.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) issued a stern warning in early November that the failure of the rainy season in the second half of the year and the resulting decline in agricultural production signaled a looming humanitarian crisis.

“The drought has already resulted in the death of a 12-year-old child from hunger, and hundreds of head of cattle have perished, raising fears of a famine similar to the one that hit the country in 2011”

James Swan, Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Somalia, told a humanitarian conference at the United Nations headquarters in Mogadishu last week that nearly 7.7 million Somalis will need humanitarian assistance in 2022.

He called on the international community to honor its promises to provide financial assistance to Somalia, to help the country cope with the wave of drought that is once again sweeping the country.

Cattle are dying “in front of our eyes”

Abdi Mahad Adam (50), a cattle breeder from Tubli (a town on the Somali border with Kenya), tells Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, The New Arabic Sister publication in Arabic: “I had about 180 cows. Now only 32 are left because of the drought that killed my cattle in front of me – the land has dried up completely, I had never seen it like this before.

“I can’t remember the last time we had access to clean water. We haven’t had enough water for three months.”

Mahad Adam adds: “Pastoralists will have to face difficult days in areas affected by drought. Those who had 500 head of cattle now have only 80. We need food and clean water, and we have no way of bringing water to the animals. we have left to keep them alive. “

The corpses of dead animals are scattered throughout rural areas in the south of the country, the stench of rotting corpses permeating the air, as their owners are forced to watch their livestock and livelihoods eradicated before their eyes.

“I can’t remember the last time we had access to clean water. We haven’t had enough water for three months.”

Ali Ahmad Hassan (73), an elder from the Tubli tribe, demands that the Somali government provide emergency aid to those affected.

“People in drought-affected areas have no way to survive the current humanitarian crisis and it is up to federal and local government actors to start providing food and clean water to people in these areas.” He adds that pastoralists are unable to hire trucks to transport livestock to areas where they can get water.

Local efforts

Residents of Tubli have led efforts to start providing modest food packages to dozens of families most affected by the drought. On top of that, a water supply campaign was launched almost a month ago. However, donations and supplies collected were not sufficient to meet the needs of people in all areas affected by the drought, which observers say could last up to six months.

#Somalia is at the forefront of #climate change & experienced
🔷30 + climate-related hazards since 1990 including:
🔹12 droughts
🔹19 floods
Current aggravation #Drought the situation left 2.6 million people without access to water and forced more than 100,000 people from their homes#InvestInHumanity pic.twitter.com/gnZmMfV3yu

– OCHA Somalia (@OCHASom) 23 November 2021

Sheikh Abdulrazak Mahdi, a resident of Tubli working on the countryside, said the affected area of ​​Lower Juba is huge and said: “Due to this, we have mobilized to provide water to affected families and have identified 11 positions in surrounding villages and towns. Areas that can provide water cans to Somali families “.

He adds that these local efforts were made possible thanks to donations collected from the inhabitants of Tubli, alongside those collected from Somalis living abroad. Mahdi implores the Somali and Arab communities to come to the aid of those affected by drought and desertification.

Government calls for action

On November 10, the Somali government hosted a humanitarian conference attended by various ambassadors, international delegations and humanitarian organizations based in the region. The conference aimed to shed light on the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in the southern and central regions of the country.

Khadija Diriye, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management told the conference: “The humanitarian situation in the country is deteriorating again and again, and we must act immediately to save lives in the south. 7.7 million people are facing a famine crisis ”.

Observers blame the government’s lack of plans to deal with environmental calamities as the main cause of repeated drought and hunger crises in Somalia in the southern and central regions. They also warn that a side effect of repeated humanitarian crises is the spread of slums in the capital Mogadishu and its suburbs due to displacement.

They point out that without meeting the basic needs of the people of the south and finding ways to replenish agricultural land, these slums will continue to exist and grow for decades to come.

This is an edited translation of our Arabic edition. To read the original article, click here.

Translated by Rose Chacko