Jump to content

UN declares end to Somalia famine


News_Editor

Recommended Posts

UN declares end to Somalia famine

2012-02-04 10:48:38 GMT+7 (ICT)

NAIROBI (BNO NEWS) -- The United Nations (UN) on Friday declared an end to the famine in Somalia but warned that, with recurrent droughts in the Horn of Africa, hunger remains a threat, officials said.

According to a new report by the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), the number of people in need of emergency humanitarian assistance in Somalia has dropped from 4 million to 2.34 million, or 31 percent of the Somali population. The report said 750,000 people had been at risk of death during the height of the crisis.

"Long-awaited rains coupled with substantial agricultural inputs and the humanitarian response deployed in the last six months are the main reasons for this improvement," FAO's new Director-General José Graziano da Silva told a press conference in Nairobi after visiting southern Somalia.

"However, the crisis is not over. It can only be resolved with a combination of rains and continued, coordinated, long-term actions that build up the resilience of local populations and link relief with development," he added.

Graziano pledged that FAO will step up its current efforts in the Horn of Africa. "We can't avoid droughts, but we can put measures in place to try to prevent them from becoming a famine. We have three months until the next rainy season," he added.

The report also warned that an estimated 325,000 acutely malnourished Somali children remain at risk. The current crisis continues to affect the whole Horn of Africa region with 9.5 million people in need of emergency assistance in Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia and Djibouti, down from 13 million at the height of the crisis.

The UN declared a famine in six out of eight regions of southern and central Somalia in July last year. A state of famine is declared on the basis of at least three criteria - severe lack of access to food for 20 percent of a population; acute malnutrition exceeding 30 percent; and a crude death rate that exceeds two deaths in every 10,000 people per day.

tvn.png

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2012-02-04

Link to comment
Share on other sites


Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.








  • Topics

  • Latest posts...

    1. 68

      Any benefits in antibiotics

    2. 179

      Best Song of Past 100 Years? Your Vote?

    3. 26

      Investment for income stream for a Thai

    4. 212

      How to retire in Thailand

    5. 68

      Any benefits in antibiotics

    6. 0

      Rising Baht Sparks Fears of Another 'Tom Yam Kung' Crisis

    7. 0

      Campaigners Urge Handout Recipients to Avoid Alcohol Amid Payout Uncertainty

    8. 0

      Denmark Considers Importing Medications from Thailand and Asia to Cut Costs

    9. 0

      Destination Thailand Visa Sparks Interest, Faces Future Hurdles

    10. 6,578

      Australian Aged Pension

    11. 30

      Expert Urges Government To Raise Tax For Foreign Condo Buyers

    12. 626

      I Love Donald Trump

    13. 23

      Change from 800,000 in bank to using income and money in bank

×
×
  • Create New...
""