By: Ivy Mungcal
The state of Somaliland in northwestern Somalia is once again appealing for international assistance to feed thousands of its people affected by worsening drought in the region.
Some 120,000 people in Somaliland’s coastal and western regions need urgent food aid, according to Mohamed Mousa Awale, head of the region’s environment research and disaster preparedness agency. His plea builds on Somaliland President Ahmed Mohamed Mohamoud’s appeal for water, food, medical and shelter aid in June, IRIN News notes.
Somaliland, which is internationally recognized as an autonomous region of Somalia, has been suffering from failed rains over the past four years, according to IRIN. This drought, which started worsening in March, has caused loss of livestock and displacement, especially in the hardest-hit localities of Lughaya, Garba-Dadar, Gargaara, Asha-Ado and Waraqa-dhigta.
A number of donors and aid agencies have been maintaining humanitarian operations in Somaliland. Among these is the World Food Program, which provided aid for 150,000 people in the region in February, in addition to running other relief activities such as school meal programs and food-for-work initiatives.
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