https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/07/world/africa/united-nations-famine-somalia.html?_r=0
MOGADISHU, Somalia — The secretary general of the United Nations, António Guterres, arrived in Somalia on Tuesday and appealed for $825 million in aid to address drought and cholera in the East Africa nation on the brink of famine.
Mr. Guterres said the money was needed to help 5.5 million people, about half of Somalia’s population, survive the next six months.
Last week, he declared that famine was underway in part of South Sudan, and warned that people in areas of Nigeria, Somalia and Yemen were also at risk of dying from hunger.
At the airport in Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital, Mr. Guterres met with President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, a former prime minister who was elected last month.
Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire said that droughts and cholera had killed more than 200 people in southern and central Somalia.
The country has already had two consecutive years of drought, and meteorologists expect crops to fail again this year. Famine was last declared in Somalia in July 2011, after an estimated 260,000 people died, most during a two-month period.
In a joint news conference, Mr. Mohamed and Mr. Guterres pleaded for assistance.
“The reason Secretary General Guterres came here today is to show support and solidarity with the Somali people at this time of humanitarian crisis,” Mr. Mohamed said.
Mr. Guterres said: “We need massive support from the international community to avoid a repetition of the tragic events of 2011.”
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One thing that struck me is that all the countries under threat are supposed to have billions in oil reserves....
MOGADISHU, Somalia — The secretary general of the United Nations, António Guterres, arrived in Somalia on Tuesday and appealed for $825 million in aid to address drought and cholera in the East Africa nation on the brink of famine.
Mr. Guterres said the money was needed to help 5.5 million people, about half of Somalia’s population, survive the next six months.
Last week, he declared that famine was underway in part of South Sudan, and warned that people in areas of Nigeria, Somalia and Yemen were also at risk of dying from hunger.
At the airport in Mogadishu, Somalia’s capital, Mr. Guterres met with President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed, a former prime minister who was elected last month.
Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire said that droughts and cholera had killed more than 200 people in southern and central Somalia.
The country has already had two consecutive years of drought, and meteorologists expect crops to fail again this year. Famine was last declared in Somalia in July 2011, after an estimated 260,000 people died, most during a two-month period.
In a joint news conference, Mr. Mohamed and Mr. Guterres pleaded for assistance.
“The reason Secretary General Guterres came here today is to show support and solidarity with the Somali people at this time of humanitarian crisis,” Mr. Mohamed said.
Mr. Guterres said: “We need massive support from the international community to avoid a repetition of the tragic events of 2011.”
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One thing that struck me is that all the countries under threat are supposed to have billions in oil reserves....
