This archive report was first published on 4 September 2019.
Published on September 4, 2019, a UN report warned that 2.1 million people in Somalia face acute food insecurity through to December due to severe drought.
The Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit (FSNAU), managed by the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), estimated that 1 million children under the age of five were likely to be acutely malnourished through to mid-2020.
Although the 2019 Deyr/short rains are forecast to be average to above-average, the positive impact on food security will not be realised until late 2019, according to the UN report on 2019 post-Gu seasonal food security and nutrition assessment.
However, the report noted that seasonal production activities will mitigate more severe deterioration during this period, and sustained humanitarian assistance through September would prevent more severe outcomes in many areas.
The UN warned that food security was expected to deteriorate in the absence of humanitarian assistance from October to December.
The current high levels of food insecurity were exacerbated by below-average and erratically distributed rainfall during the 2019 Gu season, which began late and ended early, the UN said.
Many households are still recovering from the severe 2016/2017 drought or have been affected by conflict, and 2.6 million people remain displaced, the UN added.
