Disaster

(New York/Geneva, 29 July, 2011) The United Nations today appealed for a further $1.4 billion dollars to provide life-saving assistance to more than 12 million people across the Horn of Africa.

In a new regional overview, the UN warned that the famine in two regions of Somalia could spread throughout the rest of the south within 1-2 months, if the humanitarian response did not increase in line with rising needs.

General Information:

• Famine has been declared in Lower Shabelle and parts of Bakool in southern Somalia.

• Other southern regions may also be affected in the coming two months.

• Tens of thousands of people have died and many more lives are at risk.

• 3.7 million people, more than half the population, require humanitarian assistance – a 35% increase from 2.4 million in the beginning of the year.

• Cereal prices are at an all‐time high, with the cost of some commodities up by 270% in some areas in the south.

Two regions of southern Somalia are currently facing famine. Malnutrition rates are above 50 per cent in some of the districts and tens of thousands of people have already died for reasons related to malnutrition in the last few months. In the first half of 2011, the number of people in urgent need of humanitarian assistance increased by over a million to some 3.7 million people, almost half of the people living in Somalia. If humanitarian agencies do not intervene now, famine will spread to the whole of southern Somalia within two months.