UN says at least $1 billion needed to prevent famine in Somalia

File photo: Nurto Mohamud Ali, 45, who fled the drought-stricken Lower Shabelle region, sits next to her malnourished son Mohamud Hussein, 2, at a camp for the displaced on the outskirts of Mogadishu, Somalia on Sept. 3, 2022. © Farah Abdi Warsameh, AP

The UN humanitarian chief predicted Tuesday that at least $1 billion will be needed urgently to avert famine in Somalia in the coming months and early next year when two more dry seasons are expected to compound the historic drought that has hit the Horn of Africa nation.

Martin Griffiths said in a video briefing from Somalia’s capital Mogadishu that a new report from an authoritative panel of independent experts says there will be a famine in Somalia between October and December “if we don’t manage to stave it off and avoid it as had been the case in 2016 and 2017.”