The UN humanitarian coordinator for Somalia Philippe Lazzarini on Friday warned that without immediate action, the Horn of Africa country's fragile food security situation could worsen in the coming months, according to Farhan Haq, the deputy UN spokesman.
While addressing a press briefing in Geneva, Switzerland, Lazzarini said that a combination of delayed rains, rising food prices and continued conflict is further worsening the humanitarian situation in Somalia and that resources for aid remain critically low.
Lazzarini also warned that some agencies and non-governmental organizations have so few resources that essential life-saving projects are facing closure, Haq said.
UN agencies and humanitarian partners appealed for 933 million U.S. dollars in 2014 to carry out life-saving work but have only received 15 percent of the funding so far.
More than 7.1 million Somali people were estimated to live in conditions of the food crisis in November 2013, including in Hiraan Agropastoral, Coastal Deeh Pastoral livelihood zones and Bari Region in Somalia, said the World Food Programme, adding that the conflict in South Sudan is significantly contributing to food insecurity in those areas.
