UN food agency seeks urgent contributions to continue aid flow to Somalia

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) today warned that its aid programmes for hungry people in Somalia could be jeopardized without fresh contributions allowing the flow of relief to continue.

WFP Country Director for Somalia Peter Goossens said the agency needs $19.5 million or 26,500 metric tons of food by the end of the year to feed 1 million people in Somalia. Without new contributions, WFP will be short 8,500 tons by October and the accumulated deficit will grow to 70,000 tons worth $53 million by next May.

“We are calling for immediate contributions because the needs of the weakest Somalis – mainly women and children – are growing for reasons entirely beyond their control and it can take up to three or four months to get food assistance into Somalia,” Mr. Goossens said.

The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) warned last month of a crop failure or below average production in July to August in much of southern and central Somalia because of poor rainfall.

So far this year, more than 924,000 people have received WFP food in Somalia.

Aid supply lines to Somalia by sea are under threat from a plague of piracy off the coast. Nearly 80 per cent of WFP’s assistance to Somalia is shipped by sea but increased pirates attacks this year has cut by half the availability of vessels able to carry food to Somali ports.