Famine reaches another region of Somalia

Famine has spread into one more region of Somalia and more than 4 million Somalis now need aid. The Bay region is the 6th region of the country to be declared a famine zone, and the United Nations said today about 750,000 more people may die from famine in the next four months if there is no adequate response

“There are also many other parts of Somalia that are still badly effected, that are likely to be declared a famine in the next month or two,” said Alun McDonald, the regional media officer for the international aid agency Oxfam. “This is still spreading. The rains are still not here.”

He said it is one of the worst crises he has ever encountered.

“The latest assessments show that the harvest this year has been the worst for about 17 years in Somalia, and the malnutrition levels that were released today show that in the new famine area that about 58% of the people are malnourished, which is just unheard of levels,” he told Vatican Radio.

“Its four times, or even more, what normally would be considered to be an emergency,” he said. “People are not getting enough food. They are not getting enough water. There is a real chance that we will see a spread in diseases if the situation gets even worse over the next month or two.”

Listen to the full interview by Charles Collins with Alun McDonald: