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.
Food security conditions improve The recent improvements in food security are attributed to continued humanitarian interventions, improving food stocks at the household and market levels from the ongoing 2013 Deyr harvest, sustained high livestock prices, and improved milk availability during the October to December Deyr rainy season across many pastoral areas of Somalia. Following the famine declaration in 2011, sustained humanitarian response and multiple seasons of below average to good rainfall in most parts of the country increased agricultural and livestock production and household purchasing power.
The average October to December Deyr rains boosted maize and sorghum production, yielding what may be the largest cereal harvest in nearly ten years. Substantial cash crop production also occurred as some farmers shifted from cereals to more profitable sesame. The recent multi-agency assessment found high production in Bay Region, which contributes more than half of Somalia’s sorghum production, as well as in Lower and Middle Shabelle Regions. However, a few areas in the South are likely to have a poor harvest in January and February due to late and erratic Deyr rainfall.