MOGADISHU, Somalia – Water sources in Somalia are rapidly drying up when an impending drought intensifies, leaving 70 percent of families across the country without access to safe drinking water. Thousands of children are now dependent on emergency water transport and unprotected wells or are being forced to leave their homes in search of water, according to a new assessment from Save the Children.
The assessment, which covered 632 households in eight regions of Somalia, shows reduced rainfall and severe water shortages also kill livestock, causing crop failure and reducing household incomes, leaving children with fewer meals a day and less nutritious food.
More than half of the families surveyed did not have enough food to eat, and 84 percent of those surveyed said they used harmful ways to cope with the crisis, such as breaking down their livestock reserves to buy food and reducing the number of meals they have a day. The loss of livestock also means that children have less access to milk, and this further exposes them to the risk of malnutrition.
Without immediate humanitarian aid, the crisis is likely to peak in June, with the number of children and adults in urgent need of support reaching 5.9 million – an increase of 700,000 people compared to 2020 or a third of the population.
As the negative effects of climate change intensify, the frequency and severity of extreme weather events in Somalia increase. In the past year alone, Somalia has experienced severe flooding, the most powerful cyclone ever to hit the country, and now a looming drought. Societies are struggling to survive as they do not have time to recover before the next crisis hits.
Shuaib, 12, says: “The drought has made it difficult for society. We have little water left and if it dries up, society will have to move to another place where there is water. I would be sad if this happens because the school closes and I have no choice but to go with my family. ”
There has also been a devastating upsurge in carob attacks with swarms moving rapidly across the country, destroying crops as they go, posing a huge threat to food security. Ninety-seven percent of the families interviewed in the assessment said they had experienced at least one grasshopper attack. Conflict and the economic downturn of the COVID-19 pandemic are also taking a huge toll and pushing families to the breaking point.
Anab, 37, was forced to leave her home with her children when carob and drought destroyed the grass, leaving her livestock – her only source of food and income – with nothing to eat. “Food shortages in our household have taken a toll on my children. My kids have been vomiting and having diarrhea the last few days. Now they do not have a good appetite. I do not have access to nutritious food such as dates or oatmeal, which is why my children are malnourished and ill, ”said Anab.
Mohamud Mohamed Hassan, National Director of Save the Children in Somalia, said: “Children are bearing the brunt of a growing climate crisis in Somalia and if no urgent action is taken, an alarming number will be starved, school closures due to water shortages displacement and exploitation in the coming months.
“In the communities where we work, Save the Children’s wells are drying up, families are rationing their water, crops and pastures are dying, and people are moving away from their communities in search of water and food for their livestock. In some places, the price of water has risen in the air. Those who cannot afford to pay for water are forced to use unsafe water sources, thereby putting children at risk for deadly diseases such as cholera.
Without enough food and proper nutrition, children become malnourished, which can lead to illness, infections, stunts and death. And children who are displaced can be exposed to violence, separated from their families or forced to work.
“The international community has been very generous in supporting the people of Somalia. Reducing support now, however, would be catastrophic, as the deadly combination of continuous climate shock, COVID-19 and conflict is pushing children and their families to the extreme, and they need urgent support to help them survive. ”
Save the Children urges donors to act quickly and provide immediate emergency funding to sustain and significantly scale up the humanitarian response in Somalia to save children’s lives.
ENDS
