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UN declares Somalia famine in Bakool and Lower Shabelle UN declares Somalia famine in Bakool and Lower Shabelle
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The United Nations has declared a famine in two areas of southern Somalia as it suffers the worst drought in more than half a century.The United Nations has declared a famine in two areas of southern Somalia as it suffers the worst drought in more than half a century.
The UN said the humanitarian situation in southern Bakool and Lower Shabelle had deteriorated rapidly.The UN said the humanitarian situation in southern Bakool and Lower Shabelle had deteriorated rapidly.
It is the first time that the country has seen famine in 19 years.It is the first time that the country has seen famine in 19 years.
Meanwhile, the UN and US have said aid agencies need further safety guarantees from armed groups in Somalia to allow staff to reach those in need.Meanwhile, the UN and US have said aid agencies need further safety guarantees from armed groups in Somalia to allow staff to reach those in need.
Al-Shabab, an al-Qaeda-affiliated group which controls large swathes of south and central Somalia, had imposed a ban on foreign aid agencies in its territories in 2009, but has recently allowed limited access.Al-Shabab, an al-Qaeda-affiliated group which controls large swathes of south and central Somalia, had imposed a ban on foreign aid agencies in its territories in 2009, but has recently allowed limited access.
An estimated 10m people have been affected in east Africa by the worst drought in more than half a century. Tens of thousands of desperate Somalis have been trying to flee their country to neighbouring Kenya or Ethiopia. An estimated 10m people have been affected in east Africa by the worst drought in more than half a century. More than 166,000 desperate Somalis are estimated to have fled their country to neighbouring Kenya or Ethiopia.
'Rarely used''Rarely used'
Drought, conflict and poverty have now combined to produce the necessary conditions for famine. More than 40,000 people are crammed in Safety - the name of the camp the Somali government has set up in Mogadishu for drought victims. Families have built their own homes at the camp with tree branches, wood and plastic sheets. There are no beds, people sleep on the floor. Some children look like skeletons while others have swollen legs and hands.
Those conditions include more than 30% of children being acutely malnourished, and four children out of every 10,000 dying daily. I met a woman - Habiba - who came from a village near Buurhakaba city in south-west Somalia. She says she walked for about 200km (125 miles). Her five children were with her, but the youngest ones - aged two years and five years - died on the way. She told me she abandoned their bodies along the roadside because she was too weak to dig graves. I also met Amina, who came from around Sakow city in central Somalia. She managed to get a lift on a lorry, but walked the last 50km. She carried her one-and-a-half year-old son on her back - only to realise, when she arrived, that he was dead.
Several aid agencies, including the UN refugee agency and the UK's Muslim Aid, are working at the camp. But Mogadishu's residents have also poured their hearts out to the famine victims. They drop off water and food - cooked and uncooked. Local doctors also run a health post, referring the most critical cases to Mogadishu's poorly resourced hospital.
The weather has been cruel to those at the camp. There were heavy rains earlier this week, washing away many make-shift homes. They have been rebuilding them and hoping it will rain in the famine-affected area.
Drought, conflict and poverty have now combined to produce the necessary conditions for famine. Those conditions include more than 30% of children being acutely malnourished, and four children out of every 10,000 dying daily.
"Across the country nearly half of the Somali population - 3.7 million people - are now in crisis, of whom an estimated 2.8 million people are in the south," said a statement by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs for Somalia.
It said that the ongoing conflict had made it extremely difficult for agencies to access communities in the south, which are controlled by al-Shabab.
"If we don't act now, famine will spread to all eight regions of southern Somalia within two months, due to poor harvests and infectious disease outbreaks," the head of the agency Mark Bowden warned.
The BBC's Africa correspondent Andrew Harding says the emotive word "famine" is used rarely and carefully by humanitarian organisations, and it is the first time since 1992 that the word has been applied to a situation in Somalia.The BBC's Africa correspondent Andrew Harding says the emotive word "famine" is used rarely and carefully by humanitarian organisations, and it is the first time since 1992 that the word has been applied to a situation in Somalia.
The UK Secretary of State for International Development, Andrew Mitchell, said the response by many European and developed countries to the crisis in the Horn of Africa had been "derisory and dangerously inadequate".
"The fact that a famine has been declared shows just how grave the situation has become. It is time for the world to help," he said.
Meanwhile, the UN is calling for unhindered access to affected areas, saying that the security situation is hampering humanitarian efforts.Meanwhile, the UN is calling for unhindered access to affected areas, saying that the security situation is hampering humanitarian efforts.
Adrian Edwards, a spokesman for the UN refugee agency, told reporters that the situation for aid workers in Somalia is "not what we want it to be".Adrian Edwards, a spokesman for the UN refugee agency, told reporters that the situation for aid workers in Somalia is "not what we want it to be".
"We do have a very minimal presence, and we have regular visits into the country, but we need significantly better access than we have at the moment to address an emergency of this scale," he said, speaking from Geneva."We do have a very minimal presence, and we have regular visits into the country, but we need significantly better access than we have at the moment to address an emergency of this scale," he said, speaking from Geneva.

Extended drought is causing a severe food crisis in the Horn of Africa, which includes Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti and Somalia. Weather conditions over the Pacific means the rains have failed for two seasons and are unlikely to return until September.
Food shortages are affecting up to 12 million people. The UN has declared a famine in two areas of southern Somalia, where 30% of children are acutely malnourished and four children out of every 10,000 are dying daily.
The humanitarian problem is made worse by ongoing conflicts, which means that until July militant groups had only allowed aid organisations limited access to large parts of southern Somalia and eastern Ethiopia.
Since the beginning of 2011, around 15,000 Somalis each month have fled into refugee camps in Kenya and Ethiopia looking for food and water. The refugee camp at Dadaab, in Kenya, has been overwhelmed by 370,000 people.
Farmers unable to meet their basic food costs are abandoning their herds. High cereal and fuel prices had already forced them to sell many animals before the drought and their smaller herds are now unprofitable or dying.
The refugee problem may have been preventable. However, violent conflict in the region has deterred international investment in long-term development programmes, which may have reduced the effects of the drought.
Development aid would focus on reducing deforestation, topsoil erosion and overgrazing and improving water conservation. New roads and infrastructure for markets would help farmers increase their profits.
The result of climate conditions, conflict and lack of investment is that 6.7 million people in Kenya and Ethiopia are currently existing on food rations, and relief agencies estimate 2.6 million in Somalia will need assistance a new emergency operation.
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The UN World Food Programme, which is trying to feed 1.5 million people, estimates that as many as one million people are in areas it cannot currently access.The UN World Food Programme, which is trying to feed 1.5 million people, estimates that as many as one million people are in areas it cannot currently access.
"Once we have the assurances of security and the ability to have full access to deliver and distribute and monitor, then we will be prepared to go back in," Emilia Casella, a spokeswoman for the WFP, told the Associated Press news agency."Once we have the assurances of security and the ability to have full access to deliver and distribute and monitor, then we will be prepared to go back in," Emilia Casella, a spokeswoman for the WFP, told the Associated Press news agency.
Johnnie Carson, the US assistant secretary of state for African affairs, says the US was assessing if they were seeing "real change" from al-Shabab, or whether the group planned to impose some kind of "taxation" on aid deliveries.Johnnie Carson, the US assistant secretary of state for African affairs, says the US was assessing if they were seeing "real change" from al-Shabab, or whether the group planned to impose some kind of "taxation" on aid deliveries.
"Al-Shabab's activities have clearly made the current situation much worse," Mr Carson said."Al-Shabab's activities have clearly made the current situation much worse," Mr Carson said.
"We call on all of those in south-central Somalia who have it within their authority to allow refugee groups and organisations to operate there to do so," he said."We call on all of those in south-central Somalia who have it within their authority to allow refugee groups and organisations to operate there to do so," he said.
In a separate development, Amnesty International says children in Somalia are being systematically recruited as child soldiers by militant groups such as al-Shabab.In a separate development, Amnesty International says children in Somalia are being systematically recruited as child soldiers by militant groups such as al-Shabab.
Drawing on interviews from more than 200 Somalis who have fled their country, the rights group says some of those recruited are as young as eight years old.Drawing on interviews from more than 200 Somalis who have fled their country, the rights group says some of those recruited are as young as eight years old.
The report says al-Shabab lures children with promises of money and mobile phones, but also carries out abductions.The report says al-Shabab lures children with promises of money and mobile phones, but also carries out abductions.