ReliefWeb

As of August 3rd, new evidence indicates that both the prevalence of acute malnutrition and rates of crude mortality have surpassed famine thresholds in the agropastoral areas of Balcad and Cadale districts of Middle Shabelle, the Afgoye corridor IDP settlement, and the Mogadishu IDP community. Food access indicators in these areas surpassed the famine threshold earlier this year. As a result, FSNAU and FEWS NET have now classified these areas as IPC Phase 5 – Famine. These three areas join the Bakool agropastoral livelihood zone and the Lower Shabelle region, where famine was declared on July 20th 2011. A humanitarian emergency persists across all other regions of southern Somalia, and tens of thousands of excess deaths have already occurred. Despite increased attention in recent weeks, current humanitarian response remains inadequate, due in part to ongoing access restrictions and difficulties in scaling-up emergency assistance programs, as well as funding gaps. As a result, famine is expected to spread across all regions of the south in the coming four to six weeks and is likely to persist until at least December 2011.

The international community needs to redouble its effort to tackle the current humanitarian disaster in the eastern part of the Horn of Africa. It also must consider longer-term measures to deal with the devastative impacts of drought on peoples‘ livelihoods in the region.