Somalia: Three Die of Hunger in Gedo

AUGUST 27, 2014
By Radio Ergo

Three people have died of hunger and malnutrition in rural areas around Gedo’s regional district of Garbaharey. Sabriye Rashid Haji, the chairman of Dabaaley village, said the three members of one family died over the weekend in his village which is about 15 km Garbaharey. They were two adults and a six-year-old child.

The family lost their livestock in the drought. Gedo is one of five regions that Somalia’s National Disaster Agency warned could face a repeat of the 2011-2012 drought and famine and is facing extreme food shortage and hunger.

Dozens of people, most of them children, are reported to have died of starvation in recent months. Last week, five children died in the district of Burdhubo, blockaded by al-Shabaab for more than six months.

The water pans, boreholes and other sources of water have dried up in rural areas and livestock herders have been moving to Lower and Middle Juba regions and into Kenya’s northeastern province seeking water.

Radio Ergo’s local reporter said a barrel of water in rural areas of Gedo increased from less than 50,000 to 140,000 Somali shillings. Our reporter said many pastoral families were at risk of starvation fatal water shortage if the blockade affecting many villages continues.