Appeal Letter to the Secretary-General of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation, to help avert famine in Somalia

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Appeal Letter to the Secretary-General of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation, to help avert famine in Somalia

Appeal Letter to the Secretary-General of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation, His Excellency, Hissein Brahim Taha, to help avert famine in Somalia

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Drought-affed families in Bulo Burte. | PHOTO by Office of the Special Envoy for Drought Assistance.

Appeal Letter to the Secretary-General of the Organization of the Islamic Cooperation, His Excellency, Hissein Brahim Taha, to help avert famine in Somalia

Your Excellency,

We, the undersigned humanitarian agencies working in Somalia, are appealing to the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), to come to the rescue of Somali brothers and sisters who are facing the worsening drought conditions and need urgent humanitarian assistance. This humanitarian support is critical to prevent deaths similar to 2011, when more than a quarter of a million people died - including 133,000 under the age of five.

Over six million people (40 percent of the population) in Somalia are at the risk of famine due to worsening drought conditions. The severe drought is unleashing hunger, thirst, displacement, and death in the country. Many in Somalia could not even secure iftar meals during the Holy month of Ramadan. More than 1.4 million children, under the age of five, are likely to suffer from acute malnutrition if no emergency aid is delivered.

The drought conditions have forced 745,000 persons from their homes since 2021, including 500,000 in the first quarter of 2022, the majority who are moving to urban areas with hope of receiving food, water and shelter. The Ukrainian crisis has impacted food availability and prices, with the cost of a food basket in Somalia rising 36 percent.

In 2017, when a similar situation prompted warnings of a potential famine, raising alarm bells in world capitals, funds and support were mobilized earlier and4 a catastrophe was averted. Substantial support was provided by OIC members – including more than USD28.5m via OCHA’s financial tracking and additional support – and the OIC itself – including OIC’s Assistant Secretary General, Hesham Youssef, and humanitarian partners, coming together in Mogadishu on 11 April 2017 for a humanitarian roundtable, and an earlier appeal from the OIC to prevent the same crisis Somalia now faces.

By: Somali NGO Consortium