Save the Children reported today that as the greatest drought in years tightened its hold on the nation, the number of children needing treatment for the most serious form of malnutrition increased by 300 percent in the first half of 2022 at a facility in Somalia.
Doctors at a Save the Children-run clinic for kids in Baidoa, southwest Somalia, treated a record 471 kids in June who had severe acute malnutrition and other medical problems—four times as many patients as in January.
Doctors claimed they were personally observing how a severe food crisis is being exacerbated by a changing climate.
Since treating malnourished children at Save the Children’s stabilization facility in Baidoa for more than two years, Dr. Farhiyo Mohamud Abdirahman has had to frequently work overtime to keep up with the growing patient load.
We’re dealing with a lot more difficulties now than we did even two or three months ago.
Dr. Farhiyo Mohamud Abdirahman declared, “We don’t have enough beds, rooms, and staff is working overtime.
“We are being strained beyond recognition.”
The Horn of Africa has experienced four unsuccessful wet seasons in a row, and a fifth unfavorable rainy season is expected later this year.
The issue is further exacerbated by rising food costs brought on by the conflict in Ukraine and the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since the drought’s start in October 2020, at least 18.5 million people in Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya have been impacted.
Somalia is now on the verge of famine due to the severe drought, which has no end in sight.
This has caused fears that a recurrence of the 2011 famine, which claimed 260,000 lives, about half of them children under the age of five, may occur.
Dr. Farhiyo Mohamud Abdirahman and her staff treated 1,435 children for severe acute malnutrition in the first half of 2022, which is nearly 25% more patients than they saw in the entire year of 2021.
To handle the recent rise in demand for malnutrition treatment, the health facility had to erect two medical tents in its courtyard.
The number of children dying from starvation is soaring as drought continues to destroy significant areas of the country.
The stabilization center documented 18 deaths in June, which is the most at any time in the previous 12 months and more than double the number from May.
In comparison to the same period in 2021, about 90% more children at the center died from malnutrition in the first half of 2022.
In the midst of the worst hunger crisis this century, Somalia is currently experiencing one of the worst crises, and immediate action is required to avoid a repeat of the catastrophe of 2011.
Yet only 30% of a UN request for US$1.5 billion to address the Somalia crisis has been funded.
Mohamud Mohamed Hassan, the country director for Save the Children in Somalia, said:
“Despite the fact that we have the technology to stop severe hunger, hundreds of thousands of people still pass away from food insecurity every year. Allowing hunger in the world today is a political decision.
“Time is running out for millions of children in Somalia and the Horn of Africa.
The fatal effects this drought is having on children have already been observed.
have to get moving right away. Our health clinics are seeing four times as many children in severe malnutrition than they did just six months ago in some of Somalia’s worst-affected areas, and death rates are skyrocketing.
Early international assistance in 2017 during a severe drought prevented a recurrence of the disaster in 2011.
Humanitarian organizations warn that this year’s drought in Somalia might be even more severe than the famine a decade ago if critically needed funding are not provided immediately, along with long-term action to combat climate change and its effects.
In some parts of South Sudan in 2017, famine was last officially proclaimed to be occurring on a worldwide scale.
Over 385,000 children in Somalia are at risk of dying if not given medical attention right away, with at least 1.5 million children under the age of five suffering from acute malnutrition.
“Severe malnutrition cases were rare when I first started working here.
Now, very undernourished youngsters visit the clinic every day. Additionally, they have more ailments and difficulties than previously, said Dr. Farhiyo Mohamud Abdirahman.
Children who are malnourished are more prone to infections and illnesses like cholera, pneumonia, and measles, which puts their health at even greater risk.
The measles claimed the lives of two of Casho’s children this year, and the drought has caused the majority of her cattle to perish.
She described how her family had made the decision to move to a Baidoa displacement camp in the hopes of receiving life-saving assistance.
She left behind their home and once-thriving farm as she trekked for two days with her seven kids to the camp at Baidoa.
“The drought has negatively impacted us, especially the little children who were afflicted with illnesses like measles.
We used to raise animals and cultivate crops, but our harvests failed and our animals died. Our kids are unwell.
We are ill as well. Young and elderly, we are all going hungry, Casho stated.
Since the bulk of Somalia is currently experiencing a severe drought, poverty and population relocation are now commonplace.
Many people, including Casho, have been compelled to leave their homes in search of food, fresh water, and medical attention.
However, hunger is still a regular occurrence in camps for displaced people.
“Neither the previous night nor the night before, we ate. We are in the dark.
That is the predicament we are in, said Ali*, 15, who moved to a camp for displaced people in Baidoa in June with his family.
“We beg from the market for some corn or some cash, and occasionally we come home empty-handed and sleep on the floor.
We are starving and our lands are dry. Hunger is the major issue we have.
Helping impacted communities in Somalia deal with the immediate humanitarian effects of the drought is a priority for Save the Children.
The assistance organization runs health facilities, treats malnourished children, supports school systems so that kids don’t miss out on important education while being uprooted by drought, and provides monetary and livelihood help to the most disadvantaged.
*Names modified to preserve anonymity.