The Somali President, Hassan Cheikh Mohamoud, launched, Thursday, June 09, an appeal for the attention of the diaspora and the international community, requesting an intervention in favor of the Somali population which risks facing a famine following the drought.
“Somalia is vulnerable (…) and there are fears that famine may strike in some areas (…) I call on the Somali people in the diaspora and the world to save our people who have been affected by the droughts. The objective must be to prevent the drought from worsening and causing famine,” he urged during the ceremony of his investiture.
According to the new head of state, the droughts and other challenges facing the country, including floods, « are caused by an accumulation of problems, including climate change, the destruction of our economic resources and the weakness of our governmental institutions”. He announced, in the process, his desire to set up « an agency for environmental issues ».
Hassan Cheikh Mohamoud won the presidential election last May. He had already governed his country between 2012 and 2017. His investiture recorded the presence of some African leaders, including Kenyan Uhuru Kenyatta and Djiboutian Omar Ismail Guelleh.
The question of famine in Somalia and in the Horn of Africa in general worries the international community, which multiplies the warnings.
On Tuesday 7 June, UNICEF Deputy Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa, Rania Dagash, warned that « if the world does not look beyond the war in Ukraine and act immediately , an explosion in the number of child deaths is about to occur in the Horn of Africa”. Children are said to be increasingly affected by severe acute malnutrition.
By OMA Newsletter N° 735 of 08/06/2022
Article published under the direction of Dr. Najib Kettani
The OMA, NGO with an Intercontinental vocation
For the development of cultural exchanges
Valuing human potential
The promotion and consolidation of Africa’s development, and
Inter-African integration
