Somalia: Famine claims at least 110 lives in 48 hours

Mogadishu [Somalia], Mar. 5 (ANI): More than 110 people have died in southern Somalia in the last two days from hunger and diarrhea resulting from famine. Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire said that at least 110 people have died in the Bay and Bakol regions. "I have informed today that at least 110 people, mainly children, have died in the last 48 hours in the Bay and Bakol regions because of hunger and water-borne diseases such as cholera outbreak," Anadolu quoted Khaire as saying on Saturday. On February 21, UNICEF said that almost 1.4 million children are at imminent risk of death from severe acute malnutrition this year, as famine looms in Nigeria, Somalia, South Sudan and Yemen. "Time is running out for more than a million children. We can still save many lives. The severe malnutrition and looming famine are largely man-made. Our common humanity demands faster action. We must not repeat the tragedy of the 2011 famine in the Horn of Africa," said UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake. According to a report by the UNICEF, drought conditions in Somalia are threatening an already fragile population battered by decades of conflict. Around half the population, or 6.2 million people, are facing acute food insecurity and are in need of humanitarian assistance. Some 185,000 children are expected to suffer from severe acute malnutrition this year. However, it is expected to rise to 270,000 in the next few months. (ANI)