Several Somali regions hit by severe drought
Mogadishu, Somalia (PANA) - About 2.5 million people in Somalia are living in drought-affected areas, warn UN agencies currently conducting a joint assessment mission with their partners.
This severe drought, following a long dry spell, was reported in several regions, including Mudug, Nugaal, Bari, Awdal, Woqooyi Galbeed and Sanaag.
Preliminary reports indicate growing food insecurity, increasingly limited access to water and pasture, and major disruptions to livelihoods, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in its latest report, noting that authorities have launched emergency appeals for assistance.
Under the leadership of OCHA, UN agencies and their partners have been conducting a joint assessment in some of the most affected districts of Puntland and Somaliland since last Sunday. This mission, which will end on Thursday, August 7, will help determine priority needs in the Horn of Africa country.
The UN estimates that 2.5 million people live in areas currently classified as moderately or severely drought-affected in 26 districts, including 887,000 people living in severely affected areas in 16 districts.
Five of the 26 moderately or severely affected districts – Zeylac, Lughaye, Bossaso, Gaalkacyo and Hobyo – are on the list of areas that have recently been re-prioritized for aid by the national humanitarian team.
In these areas, shallow wells have dried up and the price of water has nearly doubled, from $70 to $130 for a 10,000-liter tank.
Agricultural activities have been disrupted, and 83 health facilities and 26 strategic boreholes are no longer operational. Pastoralist communities are reportedly migrating with their livestock to other areas of Mudug and across the border into Ethiopia's Somali region in search of water and pasture.
Similar conditions are being reported in several districts of Puntland state, where two consecutive rainy seasons have also been poor. On August 2, Puntland authorities issued an emergency aid appeal to assist 800,000 people.
For its part, Somaliland declared a drought emergency on July 22, noting that wells have dried up, pastures are depleted and livestock are dying.
Somalia, a land of conflict, violence, and famine, is now the epicenter of the global warming that is plaguing the Horn of Africa. Since 2022, the country has been facing chronic drought and devastating floods, responsible for declining agricultural yields, and growing insecurity.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), while wetter conditions were recorded in southern Somalia during the recent rainy season (March-June), widespread drought persisted in northern regions.
Under these conditions, total seasonal precipitation remained significantly below average, with cumulative rainfall below 50 mm in the Awdal, Sanaag and Sool regions.
Faced with this dire scenario, the Somalia Humanitarian Fund, managed by the UN Humanitarian Coordinator, is preparing a new allocation of funds to provide vital integrated assistance to affected communities in selected priority districts.
At the same time, the Somali federal government is mobilising support from the private sector, the diaspora and other stakeholders to assist the affected populations.
-0- PANA MA 7Aug2025
