Somali presidential envoy visits drought-stricken Dolow
DOLOW, Somalia (AA) – A humanitarian delegation led by the Somali president’s special envoy for the drought response on Monday visited Dolow, one of the worst drought-stricken towns in the country, to see the humanitarian crisis and famine unfolding in the Gedol region.
Abdirahman Abdishakur Warsame met with the United Nations deputy representative to Somalia and the UN humanitarian coordinator for the country during his visit.
Dolow, which currently hosts one of the largest groups of internally displaced persons, is witnessing an influx people fleeing from the drought in search of food, water and better lives but now finding themselves living in makeshift homes without receiving any aid so far.
Adam Abdelmoula, the UN humanitarian coordinator for Somalia, told Anadolu Agency that Somalia is seeing its worst drought in recent memory.
“The people who are living here now came in recent days and weeks and have since been living without humanitarian assistance,” he said.
Abdelmoula said eight districts in Somalia are now facing famine-like conditions and 366,000 people in the country will die by September if humanitarian assistance does not scale up as soon as possible.
He noted that 7.1 million Somalis — nearly half the country’s population — are in need of humanitarian assistance and 1.5 million children are severely malnourished.
Authorities in Dolow said the camps have become overcrowded by the recent influx of those who fled from drought mostly from the Bay, Bakol and Gedol regions.
Have Your Say!
Have you been affected by the issues raised in this story? Please share your experiences by emailing haveyoursay@soundvision.com.
Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a Muslim Network TV’s representative. You can also get in touch in the following ways:
Tweet: @MuslimNetworkTV
We must take charge of our narrative. Research indicates that 92% of their Muslim coverage is negative. Help us change that.
