Friday, August 5, 2011

Somalia:


Famine forces Somalis to flock to Mogadishu refugee camps in their thousands

The UN World Food Programme says it is feeding some 85,000 people a day at 23 camps throughout Mogadishu as famine sweeps across Somalia.

The figure was given the day after the United Nations said that the famine gripping parts of southern Somalia had spread to three new areas of the country, with the entire south likely to be declared a famine zone within the next six weeks.
The UN has said that drought had already killed "tens of thousands" of people in the country.
Camps for displaced people in and near the capital Mogadishu were among the worst hit, the UN-sponsored Famine Early Warning Network said.
Two rural areas far from the city, Balcad and Cadalei, had also been declared famine zones the group said, adding: “Despite increased attention, the humanitarian response remains inadequate.
“This is due in part to ongoing access restrictions and difficulties in scaling up emergency assistance programmes, as well as funding gaps. As a result, famine is expected to spread across all regions of the south in the coming weeks and is likely to persist until at least December.”
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