In Somalia, UN Secretary-General "sounds the alarm" following unprecedented drought

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohammed hold a joint press conference at the presidential palace in Mogadishu, April 11, 2023. REUTERS - FEISAL OMAR

Text by: RFI Follow

2 min

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres "sounded the alarm" on April 11, 2023 in Mogadishu during a visit to Somalia, a country in the Horn of Africa plagued by terrorism and a historic drought.

Advertising

Read more

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres arrived in Mogadishu on April 11, 2023 for a brief official trip, his second to Somalia as UN chief. The latter recently appealed for $2.6 billion in humanitarian aid for the country hit hard by drought and climate change.

► Read also: The Guest Africa - Somalia: "A humanitarian crisis is developing dramatically"

During a press briefing upon his arrival, alongside President Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud, Antonio Guterres first recalled that it was a "solidarity visit" with Somalis on the occasion of Ramadan and that he would have "the honor of sharing" a breaking of the fast with the head of state and his guests.

« Nearly 5 million people are acutely food insecure »

While he praised "the valuable efforts" undertaken by Somalia to "fight terrorism", as well as the work of the Somali president to restructure the federal state, his visit is mainly part of a desire to "sound the alarm", he said, on the humanitarian needs of the country. Somalia, like Kenya and Ethiopia, is affected by an unprecedented drought, with five poor rainy seasons now leading to massive loss of livestock and crops, and forcing more than one and a half million Somalis to leave their land in search of food and water. A dramatic situation, and particularly unfair, according to Antonio Guterres...

« 

Although Somalis contribute very little to climate change – Somalia is responsible for only 0.003% of the emissions that contribute to the phenomenon – Somalis are among the main victims, he said. Nearly 5 million people are acutely food insecure and, of course, rising prices only make things worse. ».

Antonio Guterres therefore "called on donors" to increase their financial support for the year 2023. Of the $2.6 billion the UN estimates is needed for Somalia, only 15 percent has been raised to date.

During the Holy Month of Ramadan, I always visit Muslim countries, fasting in solidarity & sharing an Iftar.

Today, I am happy to continue this tradition in Somalia.

I thank President @HassanSMohamud for the warm welcome. pic.twitter.com/cvhLwnhfOX

— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) April 11, 2023

Newsletter Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox

I subscribe

Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application

Read on on the same topics:

  • Somalia
  • Climate
  • Climate change
  • UN
  • Antonio Guterres