Somalia: Somalia’s food insecurity eases but acute malnutrition remains high

1 February 2013, Nairobi/Washington – While the number of people in need of humanitarian assistance in Somalia has halved to 1.05 million since August 2012, malnutrition rates remain among the highest in the world, according to the latest data released today. Humanitarian assistance to protect livelihoods, reduce acute malnutrition, and help the most food insecure populations is needed over the next six months.
The underlying vulnerability of poor households also requires actions to address the causes and reduce the risks of food and nutrition insecurity by increasing the resilience of existing livelihoods.
A new report by the Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit (FSNAU) of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) with the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) warned that although average rains in Somalia boosted food production and livestock farming, these gains could easily be reversed. Following two consecutive seasons of extreme drought, the UN declared famine in parts of southern Somalia in August 2011. During the 2011 Gu season, the harvest only reached an estimated 26 percent of average, and 4 million people required humanitarian assistance.