Turkish humanitarian agency distributes food assistance in Somalia

By:Anadolu Angency

MOGADISHU, Somalia – A Turkish aid agency distributed food Saturday to more than 400 families in central Somalia.

The families who received the assistance live in an internally displaced camp in Abudwak in the central region of Galgadud.

They have lost livestock because of the severe drought that is wreaking havoc in the Horn of Africa nation.

“We have distributed food packages to drought-hit families in Abudwak. 415 families received 25 kilograms of flour, 25 kilograms of sugar, 25 kilograms of rice 3 kilograms of oil, each,” IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation’s Somalia representative Hasan Demir told Anadolu Agency.

The aid was also distributed to families who fled Somalia for Ethiopia due to the drought, he added.

IHH also distributed more than 15 water tanks to drought-hit families.

The group said it will distribute more than 57 water tanks in Baidoa, the administrative capital of the southwest state in the coming days.

“Due to the drought, food and water are urgently needed in Somalia.
We’ve begun distributing clean water to people in the Gedo region, where is most affected by the drought,” said the aid group.

It started an online fundraising campaign to help Somalis facing the effects of the drought.

IHH donates meat to the camps in Mogadishu and Baidoa every month and it is feeding 500 families monthly in Somalia.

Somalia declared a state of humanitarian emergency as the country faces its worst drought in decades.

The UN called for urgent action to address the critical water needs due to the worsening drought.

Some 2.6 million people are facing water shortages because of severe drought conditions in Somalia, according to the UN.

The worst affected regions include Gedo, Bay, Bakol, Lower Jubba, Galgadud, Mudug and parts of Bari, Nugaal, Sool, Sanaag, Togdheer and Hiraan regions.

More than 2 million people in 66 districts are in acute need and will require immediate lifesaving water, sanitation and hygiene services for the next six months.

Among the most at risk are 1.7 million children and women who are exposed to protection risks due to limited water resources.