As we watch the devastating news out of Ukraine it can be easy to forget about conflicts and humanitarian crises in other parts of the world. We should all rightly be horrified by Russia’s actions on innocent civilians in Ukraine, but it is important to also bring to light what is occurring in Somalia, a country that has gone through decades of civil war, foreign interference, and now faces a famine, worse than in 2011, when 250,000 lives were lost. A fourth consecutive rainy season has failed in the Horn of Africa, and meteorologists are warning of another below-average rainy season later this year as the world’s climate becomes more erratic. Humanitarian assistance has been depleted by global crises like the COVID-19 pandemic and now Russia’s war in Ukraine. Prices for staples like wheat and cooking oils are rising quickly, in some places by more than 100%. More than 90% of Somalia’s wheat comes from Russia and Ukraine. Millions of the livestock that provide families with milk, meat and wealth have died.
In a statement from the World Food Programme (WFP), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) some 7.1 million Somalis or nearly half the population face acute levels of food insecurity, meaning they will be barely able to get the minimum calories they need and might have to sell assets to survive. Children are at particular risk of becoming malnourished.
In 1991, with the onset of the civil war, Somalia’s governing body, the Supreme Revolutionary Council collapsed and Somaliland, a de facto state in northwestern Somalia, declared independence. Considered internationally to be part of Somalia, Somaliland still controls the northwestern portion of Somalia representing just over 27% of its territory. By mid-2012, the al-Shabab insurgency group and its allies had lost most of the territory they had seized. Despite this, they still control much of central and southern Somalia, and wield influence in government-controlled areas. Currently, al-Shabab has made humanitarian access a challenge.
This blog post is part of the CIMA Law Group blog. If you are located in Arizona and are seeking legal services, CIMA Law Group specializes in Immigration Law, Criminal Defense, Personal Injury, and Government Relations.
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