Report: 43,000 Estimated Dead in Somalia Drought Last Year
2023-03-27
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1A new report says an estimated 43,000 people died during Somalia's longest drought on record last year.
2Half of them were likely children under five years old.
3It is the first official count of deaths announced in the drought that is affecting large parts of the Horn of Africa.
4At least 18,000 people, and as many as 34,000, are predicted to die in the first six months of this year.
5"The current crisis is far from over," says the report.
6It was released Monday by the World Health Organization and the United Nations children's agency.
7And it was carried out by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
8Somalia and neighboring Ethiopia and Kenya are facing a sixth consecutive season with little rain.
9Rising world food prices and the war in Ukraine add to the hunger crisis.
10The U.N. and partners earlier this year said they were no longer predicting an official famine declaration in Somalia for now.
11But they called the situation "extremely critical" with more than 6 million people hungry in that country alone.
12Famine is the extreme lack of food and a high death rate from lack of food or nutrients combined with diseases like cholera.
13A famine declaration means information shows more than a fifth of households suffer from extreme food shortage, more than 30 percent of children are severely malnourished, and over two people out of 10,000 are dying every day.
14"The risk of famine still remains," a U.N. representative in Somalia, Adam Abdelmoula, told reporters on Monday.
15Some humanitarian and climate officials this year have warned that the changing situation is worse than the 2011 famine in Somalia.
16A quarter-million people died during that famine.
17"The death rate was increasing as the year came to a close,"
18London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine professor Francesco Checchi told reporters.
19The hardest-hit populations are in Bay and Bakool in southwest Somalia and displaced people who went to the capital, Mogadishu.
20Millions of farm animals that are kept, raised, and used by people have also died in the current crisis.
21And it is worsened by climate change and insecurity as Somalia battles thousands of fighters with al-Qaida's East Africa counterpart, al-Shabab.
22The U.N. migrations agency says 3.8 million people are displaced, a record high.
23A food security examination released last month said nearly a half-million children in Somalia are likely to be severely malnourished this year.
24This time, the world is looking elsewhere, many humanitarian officials say.
25"Many of the traditional donors have washed their hands and focused on Ukraine,"
26Abdelmoula told the visiting U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Linda Thomas-Greenfield, during a meeting in Mogadishu in January.
27I'm Gregory Stachel.
1A new report says an estimated 43,000 people died during Somalia's longest drought on record last year. Half of them were likely children under five years old. 2It is the first official count of deaths announced in the drought that is affecting large parts of the Horn of Africa. 3At least 18,000 people, and as many as 34,000, are predicted to die in the first six months of this year. 4"The current crisis is far from over," says the report. It was released Monday by the World Health Organization and the United Nations children's agency. And it was carried out by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. 5Somalia and neighboring Ethiopia and Kenya are facing a sixth consecutive season with little rain. Rising world food prices and the war in Ukraine add to the hunger crisis. 6The U.N. and partners earlier this year said they were no longer predicting an official famine declaration in Somalia for now. But they called the situation "extremely critical" with more than 6 million people hungry in that country alone. 7Famine is the extreme lack of food and a high death rate from lack of food or nutrients combined with diseases like cholera. A famine declaration means information shows more than a fifth of households suffer from extreme food shortage, more than 30 percent of children are severely malnourished, and over two people out of 10,000 are dying every day. 8"The risk of famine still remains," a U.N. representative in Somalia, Adam Abdelmoula, told reporters on Monday. 9Some humanitarian and climate officials this year have warned that the changing situation is worse than the 2011 famine in Somalia. A quarter-million people died during that famine. 10"The death rate was increasing as the year came to a close," London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine professor Francesco Checchi told reporters. The hardest-hit populations are in Bay and Bakool in southwest Somalia and displaced people who went to the capital, Mogadishu. 11Millions of farm animals that are kept, raised, and used by people have also died in the current crisis. And it is worsened by climate change and insecurity as Somalia battles thousands of fighters with al-Qaida's East Africa counterpart, al-Shabab. The U.N. migrations agency says 3.8 million people are displaced, a record high. 12A food security examination released last month said nearly a half-million children in Somalia are likely to be severely malnourished this year. This time, the world is looking elsewhere, many humanitarian officials say. 13"Many of the traditional donors have washed their hands and focused on Ukraine," Abdelmoula told the visiting U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Linda Thomas-Greenfield, during a meeting in Mogadishu in January. 14I'm Gregory Stachel. 15Cara Anna reported this story for The Associated Press. Gregory Stachel adapted it for VOA Learning English. 16_____________________________________________________________________ 17Words in This Story 18drought - n. a long period of time during which there is very little or no rain 19consecutive - adj. following one after the other in a series 20malnourished - adj. not eating enough food or not eating enough healthy food 21wash one's hand - idiom to refuse to take responsibility for something 22focused - adj. giving attention and effort to a specific task or goal 23_________________________________________________________________ 24What do you think of this story? 25We want to hear from you. We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 26Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.