Thu Oct 6, 2011 7:1PM GMT
Reddit
A malnourished child rests inside the pediatric ward at the Banadir hospital in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu. (File photo)
Seventy-seven more children have starved to death in southwestern Somalia as the conflict-plagued nation struggles against drought and famine, Press TV reports.
Doctor Mohamed Deeq Abdulle told Press TV on Thursday that the victims died within the last 20 hours in the town of Garbaharey, which is located in the region of Gedo and near the borders with Ethiopia and Kenya.
Nearly 1,000 malnourished children were also taken to local hospitals for medical treatment.
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) warned in late September that the humanitarian situation remains "highly critical" in Somalia.
"The situation in Somalia remains highly critical. Hundreds of thousands of Somalis are still displaced from their homes in search of security and food," the ICRC said in a statement.
The Geneva-based humanitarian institution added, "Although humanitarian aid has started to reach the drought- and conflict-affected people, many are still struggling to survive."
“Much of the livestock has been decimated and there is no hope for an improvement in the situation until the next harvest in December," it added.
Meanwhile, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has said that four million Somalis are in crisis, with some 750,000 at risk of dying in the next four months.
"The onset of rains anticipated in October could fuel the spread of cholera, measles and malaria, thereby leading to more deaths in a population already weakened by conflict and famine," OCHA noted.
The UN agency also pointed out that food deliveries have reached some 1.85 million people as of last week. The figure is almost half of those in need.
According to the United Nations, drought, high food prices and fighting in Somalia have increased the number of those in need of humanitarian assistance across the Horn of Africa to 13.3 million.
MP/JR/HJL
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