750,000 Somalis at risk of death from famine in next four months

Nairobi: The UN yesterday said food assistance has reached nearly half the Somalis in need, though it warned cases of diarrhoea and cholera could spike with the seasonal rains expected in October.

Famine relief has gotten to about 1.85 million Somalis, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said.

The World Health Organisation (WHO), meanwhile, reports that cases of diarrhoea and cholera are down, though October rains could pose a high risk of transmission of waterborne diseases in highly populated camps for those displaced by the famine.

Tens of thousands of Somalis already have died from a lack of food, and the UN says 750,000 more are at risk of death from famine in the next four months. Six areas in southern Somalia have been declared famine zones. Despite an increase in food aid in Mogadishu, Somalis in filthy camps for the internally displaced continue to die.

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