SPOKESPEOPLE available in Somalia and London - contact Juan Leahy: Mob: +44 (0)7834 216 458, Email: Juan.Leahy@actionaid.org
The international aid response to the hunger crisis remains critically underfunded as the world risks making the same mistakes as 2011 when famine killed 250,000 people.
The Somalia food crisis response is so short of cash that there is only £17 for every person going hungry.
The 2017 UN appeal for Somalia has received £110 million from donor countries — just 11% of what the UN has requested. There are 6.2 million Somalis in severe need of food aid, which means there is only £17.74 for every Somali in need — far below the sum required to treat a cholera patient or feed a person through the months of crisis ahead.
In 2011 an estimated 250,000 people died in Somalia. Despite numerous warnings the global response was too slow and came only after famine was devastating the region. This contributed to the death of thousands of people. The slow response to the 2017 crisis risks repeating the same terrible mistake.
ActionAid Head of Humanitarian Response Mike Noyes said:
“Hunger and disease mean countless lives are at stake yet at this rate food won’t arrive until after people begin dying. The international aid response has been pitifully small. £17 per person falls desperately short of what is needed to feed the six million Somalis who are going hungry.
“The 2011 famine in Somalia killed a quarter of a million people. Children starved to death in front of their mothers while the international community hesitated. That cannot be allowed to happen again. The UK has shown its commitment but more must be done and other countries must contribute urgently. If we are to save lives the world must act before it is too late.”
Ends
Notes
2017 UN appeal for Somalia — https://fts.unocha.org/appeals/528/summary. $133.9m (£110m) received as of 17:40 GMT, 9 March 2017.
SPOKESPEOPLE available for print and broadcast interviews.:
London — ActionAid’s Head of Humanitarian Response, Mike Noyes
Somalia — ActionAid’s Country Director for Somaliland (a region of Somalia), Sadia Abdi Allin
For more information or to arrange an interview please contact Juan Leahy: Mob: +44 (0)7834 216 458, Email: Juan.Leahy@actionaid.org