US says Somalia famine has killed more than 29,000 children

[Che -Guevara]

NAIROBI, Kenya - The drought and famine in Somalia have killed more than 29,000 children under the age of 5, according to U.S. estimates, the first time such a precise death toll has been released related to the Horn of Africa crisis.

 

The United Nations has said previously that tens of thousands of people have died in the drought, the worst in Somalia in 60 years. The U.N. says 640,000 Somali children are acutely malnourished, a statistic that suggests the death toll of small children will rise.

 

Nancy Lindborg, an official with the U.S. government aid arm, told a congressional committee in Washington on Wednesday that the U.S. estimates that more than 29,000 children under the age of 5 have died in the last 90 days in southern Somalia. That number is based on nutrition and mortality surveys verified by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

 

The U.N. on Wednesday declared three new regions in Somalia famine zones, bringing the total number to five. Out of a population of roughly 7.5 million, the U.N. says 3.2 million Somalis are in need of immediate lifesaving assistance.

 

Getting aid to Somalia has been made more difficult because al-Qaida-linked militants control much of the country's most desperate areas. Al-Shabab has denied that a famine is taking place, and won't give access to the World Food Program, the world's biggest provider of food aid.

 

Tens of thousands of refugees have fled south-central Somalia in hopes of finding food at camps in Ethiopia, Kenya and in Mogadishu, the Somali capital.

 

Hundreds of millions of dollars have been donated to fight the hunger crisis, but the U.N. says it needs hundreds of millions more.

 

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How to help: http://www.interaction.org/crisis-list/interaction-members-respond-drought- crisis-horn-africa

[Che -Guevara]

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/126767158.html?viewAllComments=y

[Polanyi]

you believe that?

[Boondheere]

waa wacquul inay abaarta somalia ka jirta ay dishay xitaa in intaas ka sii baddan, waayo famil waliba ee soomali ah siiba gobolada bay and bakool gedo, jubbooyinka waxay abaartan ku waayeen ugu yaraan familkiiba 3 caruur ah. sidoo kale abaartan waa worst abaar in 60 years. abaartan waxay kaloo kaga xun tahay abaarihii kale hay'adihii mucaawinada ayey kooxda al shabaab ka joojiyeen inay caawiyaan dadkii caawinaada u baahnaa.

[Che -Guevara]

Polanyi;738730 wrote:

you believe that?

It doesn't matter what I believe. What matters is people on the ground say and from what tell folks the situation is dire.

[NASSIR]

It's a tragic situation of epic proportions. At least, for now, aid agencies have secured the waiver from the US Department of state to work in Shabaab held areas and make deals with them on how to access and provide emergency aid. I think that has led to the stalemate prior to the drought/famine. The little fund-raising capacity Somalis had inside and outside the country had already been eroded or complicated by this anti-terrorism provisions. It truly scared not only the agencies working in the area but also individuals and families with good intentions of helping others in need.

[NASSIR]

Somalia must be rescued by the international community.

[Che -Guevara]

^Somalia needs to rescue itself. Why should non-Somalis care if Somalis don't care about their own people. Even with the best of intentions, there's so much the international community can do.

[Abwaan]

Che -Guevara;738750 wrote:

It doesn't matter what I believe. What matters is people on the ground say and from what tell folks the situation is dire.

Waa sax. Muhiimmadu waxay tahay in la ogsoonaado sida ba'an ee abaartaani Soomaalida u saamaysay.

[NASSIR]

Che, Unless you favor the status quo in the south, you won't want the country to still be captive to the extremists whose pattern of harsh rule & behavior has isolated this poor nation from the rest of the world.

[Che -Guevara]

^At this point, I welcome any change but only change within the Somalis can bring about peace.

 

 

Check images below

 

http://www.jowhar.com/news.php?readmore=2222