05.08.2022
Somalia’s Drought Leaves Nearly 7 Million Desperate With Hunger
The UN says nearly 7.1 million Somalis, almost half of the country’s population, face acute levels of food insecurity. Most Somalis are pastoralists, relying on their livestock for food. But according to the UN, about three million livestock animals have perished due to the continuing drought and more than 805,000 people have been displaced. Nearly 7.1 million Somalis, almost half of the country’s population, face acute levels of food insecurity. Most of those escaping the droughts have moved to the big cities amid rising inflation caused by the continuing conflict in Ukraine and the pandemic. More than 90 percent of Somalia’s wheat used to come from Ukraine and Russia. With Ukrainian ports shuttered, the price of wheat has skyrocketed, pushing more people into poverty. According to the UN, the country’s poverty rate – measured as those living on less than $2 a day – stands at 73 percent. All families surveyed reported they were forced to skip meals in the last week. Two-thirds of households reported having lost between half and all their livestock because of drought. Just over half do not believe they will be able to return to their homes. Somalia’s drought has contributed to staggering displacement, increasing violent conflicts over water and grazing land, rising costs of basic goods, and the destruction of crops and livestock herds. Less than USD500 million has been allocated as humanitarian funding by international donors so far this year, compared to USD1.3 billion in 2017 when Somalia faced similar drought conditions. Credit: ALJAZEERA
Poverty deprives people of adequate education, health care and of life's most basic necessities- safe living conditions (including clean air and clean drinking water) and an adequate food supply. The developed (industrialized) countries today account for roughly 20 percent of the world's population but control about 80 percent of the world's wealth.
Poverty and pollution seem to operate in a vicious cycle that, so far, has been hard to break. Even in the developed nations, the gap between the rich and the poor is evident in their respective social and environmental conditions.
Poverty and pollution seem to operate in a vicious cycle that, so far, has been hard to break. Even in the developed nations, the gap between the rich and the poor is evident in their respective social and environmental conditions.
