in Somalia, the threat of famine aggravated by the war in Ukraine

More than 100 km now separate Jaamac Soomane Buraale from his village of origin. For five years, this father has been sleeping in a tent in a camp for displaced people near Garowe, in northern Somalia. Drought and hunger pushed him on the road of exodus, alongside his wife and their four children. “In our village, we could no longer have access to food”says the 50-year-old goat farmer on the phone, with the help of an Action Against Hunger translator.

In Garowe, “the situation is somewhat better”but a recent price hike is keeping the family food insecure. “Sometimes I can’t buy enough food for everyone. Sometimes, twice a week, we have to leave the food for the kids.” Last month, 5.2 million Somalis, or a third of the population, were acutely food insecure. By September, there could be 7.1 million, including 2.1 million in an emergency situation, according to the food security baseline analysis*.

“Somalia is on the brink of famine.”

Petroc Wilson, spokesperson for the World Food Program in Somalia

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After years of drought linked to climate change, inflation, accentuated by the war in Ukraine, is increasing the risk of famine in Somalia every day. “In some areas, prices have more than doubled over the past few months”testifies Petroc Wilson.

In southern Somalia, Samey Aden Abdi lives with her two children and three grandchildren in one of 3,600 makeshift tents in a camp for displaced people near Bardera. Eight months ago, the family traveled 85 km to flee drought and violence from the Islamist terrorist group Al Shabab. Samey Aden Abdi says he lost nearly 200 goats and ten cattle to aridity. Animals essential to its survival, like its crops. Corn, beans, sorghum… These crops, which supported and fed the family, “have not taken place for almost four years”, she assures. The Somali woman and her relatives ate little, once or twice a day, with the help of their community. One of his children did not survive.

Somalia is now suffering from a drought that started at the end of 2020. Harvests have been very low or nil and more than three million head of cattle have perished in a year, like the animals of Samey. In the region where she is, particularly affected, “two farming communities saw their river dry up completely”explains Fatuma Isse, project manager for the Sado organization, which works on food security in the region. “They had never seen this in their life.”

Many had no choice but exile. As such, 700,000 people fled the drought in less than a year. These exiles “are very thin, frail”points out Fatuma Isse. “A mother told me she could go a day on the road without eating. A family lost two children like that.” Desperate drought victims head for city resources, such as in Bardera. From now on, Samey is totally dependent on the help of the inhabitants for food.

“That’s how I survive, by begging.”

Samey Aden Abdi, Somali IDP in Bardera

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A day earlier, the Somali woman received a kilo of rice and then a kilo of maize. Two kilos to feed six people.

In the Jaamac camp, near Garowe, two mothers, Xaawo Ciise Axmed and Basro Cali Xaashi, in turn tell how they survive. Thanks to humanitarian aid, they have access to a cash transfer program provided by Action Against Hunger: $80 per month to buy food.

With such an envelope, Xaawo had, a few months ago, enough to buy rice and cooking oil and “sometimes even vegetables like tomatoes or onions”. But with the onset of war in Ukraine, she and her family saw market prices rise.

“Month to month, sometimes day to day, prices are never the same.”

Xaawo, Somali woman displaced in Garowe

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In this sense, Somalia is one of the African countries most dependent on wheat imports from Ukraine and Russia: 68.5% of the wheat consumed comes from Ukraine.

Before the conflict, 25 kg of wheat flour cost $12.5 in Somalia, according to data provided by the NGO Save the Children. Today, you have to pay $18 to get the same amount.

“It is not scarcity that is starving people to death, it is rather the explosion in prices that is making products inaccessible to millions of Somalis.”

Jean-François Riffaud, General Director of Action Against Hunger

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Other products are also affected by this price increase, which varies greatly at local level. In the Garowe region, “Before the conflict in Ukraine, a 1 kg portion of rice cost 0.5 dollars. Today, it costs me 1.5 dollars”, testifies Xaawo, mother of six children. Faced with this inflation, Xaawo and Basro are forced to deprive themselves.

“We can only afford one meal a day that can feed the whole family. It’s not enough.”

Xaawo, Somali woman displaced in Garowe

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“Before, we could buy meat, milk or cereals but we had to stopcontinues Bastro. Today, we are content with more basic products such as rice, which makes our diet much less diversified.”

And if the costs increase for the population, they also increase for the humanitarian organizations, which attend the rise in prices without seeing their funds increase. “A few months ago, we could give a household $70 to $100 a month for food. Today, we would have to give them at least $150 to $200”illustrates Hajiir Maalim, regional director of the Action Against Hunger office in East Africa. “These are resources that we don’t have.”

In his eyes, those who suffer from this food crisis are “victims of an attention deficit since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, which results in delays in funding because Ukraine is prioritized”.

Without treatment, the effects of this malnutrition on health are numerous and affect the immune system in particular. “Our children often suffer from anemiaexplains Bastro. This year, I had to go to the camp health center at least three times because my children had the flu or other bacterial diseases.” The 35-year-old Somali woman, who has just given birth, says she was scared throughout her pregnancy when she was diagnosed “low blood levels” Where “a heartbeat that wasn’t working well”.

Children suffering from hunger, especially young ones, “are the most vulnerable”, underlines Bishara Suleiman, in charge of the nutrition program of the Red Cross in Somalia. Jasinta Achen, nutrition project officer for UNICEF in Somalia, backs up her point: “In the central and southern regions of Somalia, in June there are very high rates of malnutrition. Many districts have exceeded the emergency threshold for malnutrition: more than 15% of children there are malnourished.”

In 30 years, Action Against Hunger has never seen so many admissions to its centers in Somalia. Between January and April, arrivals of children suffering from severe malnutrition increased by 55%* compared to the same period last year.

In these stabilization centers in Somalia, young patients have not been fed properly for weeks or even months. “The longer we wait, the more children will starve”insists Mohamud Hassan, director of the NGO Save the Children in Somalia.

“The children are extremely weak. We see some of them die after a day at the center.”

Mohamud Hassan, director of Save the Children Somalia

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Faced with this influx, humanitarian organizations are calling for help from the international community. For Mohamud Hassan, “it is unacceptable” to see such a situation, without “to be able to help everyone”.

* Links marked with an asterisk refer to articles in English.