Top UN humanitarian forum warns: Somalia at 'tipping point' of famine
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In a statement issued on Monday, the heads of the UN Inter-Agency Standing Committee called for increased support and humanitarian access to save lives.
Famine has already hit the Baidoa and Burhaqaba regions in south-central Somalia. Standing committee members said that could continue until March next year if aid is not significantly scaled up immediately.
'Unacceptable' hunger crisis
Meanwhile, millions of Somalis face extreme hunger. Women, especially pregnant and breastfeeding women, and children under five, are the most vulnerable and need urgent assistance now to avoid the worst.
"Deaths from starvation are likely to be happening," said the Standing Committee member. During the 2011 famine, more than 250,000 people died in Somalia, about half of them before the famine was officially declared. At least half of them were children ."
The Inter-Agency Standing Committee brings together the heads of 18 major UN agencies and their partners to better prepare for and respond to humanitarian crises.
Some 20.5 million people in the Horn of Africa are in the shadow of what these leaders call a "horrific and entirely avoidable hunger crisis." "This is unacceptable," they stressed.
They point out that declaring a famine should not be the only trigger for meaningful action.
However, despite more than a year of warnings about catastrophic hunger by local authorities, the Somali government, United Nations agencies and NGOs, those warnings have been largely ignored.
"Surge in demand"
Moreover, despite the commitments from donors around the world in anticipation of the crisis, funding has not yet reached the scale needed.
The rapidly expanding humanitarian aid has undoubtedly saved many lives since the beginning of the year, but a "surge in demand" is rapidly outpacing resources.
"We have avoided famine together before. We can and must do it again," the statement said.
"In a world of staggering wealth, it is unacceptable that people die of hunger. We must act now".
Improve access, provide funding
The statement called on all parties to facilitate immediate and safe access for humanitarian operations.
Partners are also calling on donors to provide immediate and flexible funding so that humanitarian agencies on the ground, especially local and international NGOs, can scale up quickly, prevent more deaths, protect livelihoods, and avoid a deepening disaster.
They added that it was crucial to get aid to rural communities before they were forced to leave their homes in search of food.
"Final Warning"
Griffiths, the UN Coordinator for Humanitarian Affairs and chair of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee, wrapped up a five-day visit to Somalia on Monday, his first to the country.
"I was shocked to see the level of pain and suffering endured by so many Somalis over the past few days," he told reporters in the capital Mogadishu.
"Famine is coming. Today we received our final warning
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