The severe drought that has gripped the Horn of Africa has worsened, according to Muslim Aid relief workers in the field.
“The situation on the ground is very bad,” said Ahmed Muhammed, Muslim Aid’s country manager for Somalia. “In all cases, lack of food and water is the major concern. In order to alleviate the suffering of the drought victims, we have assigned a team to coordinate the relief effort.” The United Nations estimates that in all 11 million people in parts of Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Tanzania and Burundi need food aid for the next six months. Muslim Aid Somalia has identified five regions of the country which have been most severely affected – Bakool, Bay, Gedo, Middle Jubba, and Lower Jubba. Ahmed Muhammed said, “There were no rains for the last three seasons. They could not cultivate their lands for crop production.” From the main office in Mogadishu, Muslim Aid has regional offices assigned to keep abreast of the situation. The Qansax Dhere district is being used by Muslim Aid as the central point of the emergency relief effort, as it is surrounded by hundreds of drought-hit villages. “Our teams have started providing water to the villagers,” Ahmed Muhammed said. “As soon as these villages are covered, we will then target other needy areas.” In partnership with the Islamic Foundation, Muslim Aid is distributing maize, beans, cooking fat, anti-malaria medicine and milk powder to 3,000 people in Isiolo in eastern Kenya. Muslim Aid is also working with the Kakamenga Muslim Teachers Welfare group and the Mandera Islamic Centre to bring emergency food, water and medical relief to Wajir and Mandera respectively in north-east Kenya. Those who wish to make donations to Muslim Aid can log on to www.muslimaid.org for further information.
Muslim Aid Somalia
“Most of the households living in those
areas have lost their livelihood, which
is their livestock,” said Ahmed Muhammed,
Muslim Aid's country manager for
Somalia.
REF:
Muslim Aid Somalia
“Mothers and children are suffering from
malnutrition and death of livestock is
occurring on a large scale,” said Farooq
Murad, chairman of Muslim Aid. The
price of staple food has soared in most
parts of the affected regions, while the
price of livestock has dropped.
REF:
Muslim Aid Somalia
Ahmed Muhammed observed that in Bay and
Gedo, the affected areas have not had
water and food for a prolonged period of
time, and this has resulted in the death
of hundreds of animals.
REF:
Muslim Aid Somalia
“When most of the livestock died, people
started to leave their villages in
search of water,” Ahmed Muhammed
explained. “They have travelled for
miles."
REF:
Muslim Aid Somalia
Nomadic farmers in the arid wastelands
of northern Kenya are dying with their
cattle, and so far scores of people,
mainly children, have already died.
There is a great risk of widespread
starvation because seasonal rains failed
for the second time in a year.
REF:
Muslim Aid Somalia
In Somalia alone, this drought is
creating a food crisis that has put two
million people in need of humanitarian
assistance.
REF:
Muslim Aid Somalia
To date, Muslim Aid has come to the
assistance of those suffering by
providing £74,485 worth of humanitarian
relief to Somalia and Kenya. Muslim Aid
has been active in the distribution of
rice, flour, sugar, oil, tea, beans,
biscuits, water, shelter, and drugs to 7,
500 people in southern Somalia.
REF:
Muslim Aid Somalia
Each family has received 61 kilograms of
food, and 200 litres of water from
Muslim Aid. A total of 91,500 kilograms
of food, and 200,000 litres of water,
have been distributed to victims of the
Horn of Africa famine.
REF:
[ Any views expressed in this article are those of the writer and not of Reuters. ]
