Thousands on the brink of starvation as severe drought hits Southwest State of Somalia - IHDS

Over half of the population in Southwest State of Somalia (SWS) is experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity and 112, 470 people are at an increased risk of famine and starvation from September to the end of the year, aid agencies and food and nutrition analysts have warned. 

Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) and incidences of Measles and suspected Acute Watery Diarrhea (AWD)/Cholera are taking a toll on the children in the state under the age of five years. Since January 2022, 22 people have died from suspected AWD/Cholera while over 1800 children were placed under inpatient care due to severe acute malnutrition according to the Cholera Treatment Centers (CTC) and caregivers in Southwest State of Somalia. 

The humanitarian situation in the state is extremely dire and alarming due to a severe drought in decades that is affecting nearly 1.5 million people, has disrupted agro-pastoral livelihoods, and killed large numbers of livestock in the Southwest State of Somalia. The drought has caused a massive displacement of people across the districts from rural areas into the urban settlements with an estimated 597,000 displaced people who were encamped in 498 IDP sites in the state since January. 

Acute food insecurity, malnutrition, and water shortages are the problems facing the vulnerable communities in Southwest State as the current humanitarian assistance is not adequate to cover the needs of the affected population and the drought crisis deteriorates to the end of the year bypassing the famine thresholds. Four consecutive seasonal rainfall failures, spiking staple food prices, inadequate integrated humanitarian assistance, and encirclement of districts in Southwest State have all contributed to the current drought and humanitarian crises in the state.  

Insufficient rainfalls and inadequate water availability reduced crop production and caused livestock losses while the staple food commodities skyrocketed not affordable to the vulnerable households in the state. Insecurity and imposed blockades on some of the districts of the state exacerbated the drought conditions, restricting routes to supplies including food, basic commodities, and humanitarian deliveries and contributing to high food prices and resultant acute food insecurity. The districts in the state, which have been affected by the encirclement and blockaded supply routes, include Huddur and Wajid in Bakool region and Diinsoor, Qasaxdhere in Bay region.

The agro-pastoral zones in Bay and Bakool regions of Southwest State of Somalia are the worst hit by the severe drought with high acute malnutrition and food insecurity following reduced crop production, loss of livestock, and insufficient water supply caused by the failures of four consecutive seasonal rainfalls and inadequate humanitarian deliveries in the drought-affected areas in the state. 

The drought and humanitarian crises are projected to worsen into a catastrophic state and cause loss of human and animal lives in the second half of the year unless timely and well-coordinated urgent actions are taken to respond to the emergencies and avert a humanitarian catastrophe. As the drought continues to deteriorate and humanitarian emergencies increase, flights of Internally Displaced People (IDPs) from rural areas into the urban settlements are expected to increase, exacerbating the already constrained host and IDP communities’ humanitarian situation in urban locations of Southwest state of Somalia. 

Somalia is faced with the worst drought in 40 years, which is wreaking havoc in East Africa and the Horn of Africa region as it reels from a fourth consecutive failed rainy season. The drought affected over 7 million people in Somalia, of whom nearly a million people have been displaced from their homes. A fifth consecutive rainy season (October-December) is forecasted to fail into 2023, which will increase humanitarian needs and worsen food insecurity, malnutrition, and water scarcity. 

Food Security 

The food security situation in Southwest State of Somalia is acutely worse and affects half of the population in the state. 1, 455, 360 people (51%) are experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity of whom 533, 840 are in the emergency phase. In June 2022, the Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit (FSNAU) projected that 213,000 people in Somalia were on the brink of famine from September to the end of the year. Over 100 thousand of those people projected to be affected by the famine live in Southwest State of Somalia. Because of the worsening drought and acute food insecurity, the mortality rates and acute malnutrition have reached beyond critical levels and are pushing the agro-pastoral communities in Southwest State of Somalia to the brink of famine, particularly among the Internally Displaced People (IDPs). 

Below average rains resulting in low food production and skyrocketing food prices have decreased the purchasing power of the drought-affected households in Bay and Bakool to the lowest level since the famine in 2011, which has left them in a state of acute food insecurity and at an increased risk of hunger and starvation. The prices of essential staple food commodities have continued to spike since the onset of the drought. The price of red sorghum, which is a domestic cereal widely consumed in the Bay, Bakool and Lower Shabelle regions, has increased from 0.7$ to 0.8$ in Wanlaweyn district of Lower Shabelle (WFP Market and Supply Chain Update July 2022), which indicates a likelihood of a surge in prices of the locally produced grain through the next short dry spell and forecasted failure of October-December rainy season. Imported food commodities are also seeing a spike in their prices, mainly because of the restricted global food supplies because of the war in Ukraine. Unless urgent humanitarian food aid distributions and unconditional cash transfers are provided to the drought-affected population in Southwest State of Somalia, the food security situation will worsen to unimaginable levels, and increase acute malnutrition and mortality rates in the state. 

Water and Sanitation 

The drought-affected people in Southwest State of Somalia (SWS) particularly the IDPs are critically under-served with water and sanitation services when the drought conditions have depleted water sources and the availability of safe and clean drinking water, which is crucial for the health of the affected population and prevention of communicable water-borne diseases, has become difficult. All districts in the state are in acute need of water, sanitation, and hygiene support and most water systems rely on humanitarian assistance. 

Increased prevalence of suspected Acute watery Diarrhea (AWD)/Cholera cases was observed in the state since the drought conditions broke out in early 2022 as the number of suspected AWD/Cholera cases is estimated to be at 3, 145 with 22 deaths included in the first six months of the year (et el Somalia WASH Cluster). The massive displacements of people due to the drought have also overstretched the existing water infrastructures in the IDP settlements leading to breakdowns of the water points. The prices of water have increased by 136 percent during the current drought. 

Nutrition and Healthcare 

Severe Acute Malnutrition (SAM) is facing people in Southwest State of Somalia (SWS), especially the under-5 children and remains critically concerning. The acute malnutrition is largely attributed to the high levels of acute food insecurity, which the SWS people are experiencing due to the impact of the drought. Over 1800 of nearly 13,000 children who were screened in Southwest State of Somalia in June were diagnosed with severe acute malnutrition and 459 of them were placed under inpatient care (Save the Children International-SCI). 

In its survey, the SCI found that there was an increase in the trend of admissions in the previous months from April (193) and May (329) and June (459). The situation is gravely concerning as the malnutrition thresholds for famine have been crossed, and death rates among the children bypass the emergency thresholds. In the agro-pastoral Bay region of Southwest State of Somalia, 13.9 to 26.9 percent suffered a national medium level of Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM). Children suffering severe acute malnutrition have been admitted to stabilization centres in Baidoa and Bur Hakaba in Bay and Afgooye in Lower Shabelle while a high incidence of Oedema (Kwashiokor) has been observed in districts of the state indicating low intake of protein as a result of extreme household food insecurity. The high malnutrition rates are also contributed by suspected AWD/Cholera cases reported in the drought-affected districts, most likely because of the contamination of water sources and poor sanitation facilities. High levels of Moderate Acute Malnutrition (MAM) have also been recorded in children and Pregnant and Lactating Women (PLW) in the state. 

Meanwhile, the health situation in the state remains critically under-equipped, under-resourced, and fragmented to provide life-sustaining and preventative services. Incidences of measles have been reported in the three regions of the state since January 2022. Local health authorities and aid agencies working in health services put the number of children who caught measles at 2, 537 cumulatively in the first six months of the year. Health practitioners also voice public health concerns as the incidence of suspected Acute Watery Diarrhoea (AWD)/Cholera has increased and a total of 3, 145 suspected cases were reported including 22 deaths from the disease. 

Inadequate funding to respond to emergency health needs and gaps in available resources continue to hamper the delivery of life-saving health services, making it impossible for the local health authorities and health workers to meet the increasing demand for health services in the state. 

IHDS Recommendations

The ongoing drought is severely impacting the local population in Southwest State of Somalia, putting them at an increased risk of acute hunger from September to the end of the year and is highly likely to cause a humanitarian catastrophe. A forecasted failure of the next Deyr rainy season (October-December), unchanged surging essential food prices, inadequate integrated humanitarian assistance, and restricted supply routes in the districts of Southwest State all make the situation worse and increase the risk of the occurrence of the projected famine in the state. 

Unless concerted, timely, and adequate integrated humanitarian interventions are made to prevent the looming hunger, which is threatening 112,470 people in the state, there is a high likelihood of people dying from starvation in the state in the coming weeks. The Institute of Humanitarian and Development Studies (IHDS), inferring from its analysis of the dire humanitarian and drought situation in Southwest State of Somalia, recommends that the SWS administration and the humanitarian actors in the state take immediate and urgent actions to avert the projected humanitarian catastrophe in the state by undertaking multi-sectoral and integrated life-sustaining and preventative as well as life-saving emergency interventions. 

The most priories should be given to areas and locations where the humanitarian situation is extremely bad and the drought conditions are wreaking havoc while the neediest and vulnerable people severely affected by the impact of the drought be served with urgent and timely humanitarian response.

Increased funding and resource mobilization at community-, state-, national and international levels should also be accelerated in order to provide timely support to the drought-affected people in Southwest State of Somalia. 

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