260,000 Died Starving In Somalia In 2011

Famine- 260,000 Died Starving In Somalia In 2011; Half Were Children, Says Report -- Christian Post

New Report More Than Doubles Initial Death Toll for 2011 Crisis

In a famine, 260,000 died of starvation in Somalia, with at least half of victims being children aged 5 and under, a new report found. The famine, which happened in late 2010 and early 2011, killed more than twice the amount of people officials originally thought.

The famine in which 260,000 died was a combination of several factors: signs of food shortages across East Africa went largely ignored by the international community; radical militants exacerbated the problem by hindering food aid and deliveries across central Somalia; and many of the malnourished were unable to survive the journey out of the country due to sickness, hunger, or the militant extremists.

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Update #1: Famine 260,000 died: 2011 Somali famine killed hundreds of thousands -- Examiner
Update #2: Report: 260,000 Died in Somali Famine -- AP

My Comment: If political instability and civil war returns .... expect the return of another famine.

Famine Fears Are Rising As Somali Islamic Militants Cut Off Food Aid

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Islamic Militants Halt Aid to Famine-Stricken Somalia -- Wall Street Journal

NAIROBI—Islamist militants have cut off emergency food delivery for an estimated 240,000 people in the central and southern regions of Somalia, according to relief workers, in an ominous development for one of the largest food-delivery programs in the famine-stricken east African nation.

Officials with the International Committee of the Red Cross said Friday that a 140-truck convoy carrying 3,500 tons of perishable food oil, beans, rice and seeds for the planting season has been held up for a month. The blocked supply, which the Somali militants haven't fully explained, comes as the country recovers from a grim two-year drought.

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More News On Fears Of Famine In Somalia

Somali famine 'will kill tens of thousands' -- BBC
Top UN official warns of continued risk of famine in Somalia -- The Guardian
Aid Efforts Need Help Getting To Somalia's Famine -- NPR
ICRC suspends aid distribution in Somalia -- CNN
Somalia Islamists force ICRC food aid suspension -- Reuters
Somali food aid shipments halted -- Al Jazeera

Somalia's Famine Death Toll Projected To Reach 750,000

Famine Spreads in Somalia, U.N. Says -- New York Times

NAIROBI, Kenya — The United Nations announced on Monday that Somalia’s famine had spread to a sixth area within the country, with officials warning that 750,000 people could die in the next few months unless aid efforts were scaled up.

A combination of drought, war, restrictions on aid groups and years of chaos have pushed 4 million Somalis — more than half the population — into “crisis,” according to the United Nations. Agricultural production is just a quarter of what it normally is, and food prices continue to soar.

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More News On Somalia's Famine

Famine spreads with 750,000 at risk of death in Somalia alone, UN says -- The Telegraph
UN declares sixth famine zone in Somalia -- The Guardian
Famine Spreads In Somalia, Killing Hundreds Daily -- Radio Free Europe
Somalia famine: UN warns of 750,000 deaths -- BBC
U.N.: 750,000 people in Somalia face 'imminent starvation' -- CNN
Famine Is Declared in Sixth Region of Somalia; 750,000 May Starve to Death -- Bloomberg
UN declares famine in 1 more Somalia region -- AP
U.N. declares famine in new Somalia region -- Global Post
Famine spreads to sixth region of Somalia -- Al Jazeera
Four Million in Crisis in Somali Famine -- Voice of America

What Can Be Done About The Somalia Famine?

What Can Be Done About The Somalia Famine? Hint: It’s Not A Problem Than Can Be Droned Away. -- Mark Leon Goldberg, UN Dispatch

Everyday brings grim new figures from the famine in Somalia. The latest is this: according to nutrition and mortality surveys by USAID 29,000 children under the age of 5 have died in the last 90 days in southern Somalia. And it’s going from bad to worse. On Wednesday, the UN announced that the famine has spread beyond the regions in Southern Somalia to three other areas—including parts of Mogadishu.

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My Comment: The sad fact about Somalia is that there are no good options to combat this famine. Military intervention .... think Black Hawk Down. Foreign aid contributions .... aid workers being kidnapped. Help from other African countries .... they want a two week delay in their famine conference.

Nope .... sadly .... not much can be done about Somalia's famine. None at all with the exception of helping those who are able to escape the country itself.

famine In Somalia -- News Updates August 2, 2011

Fears Famine May Be Spreading Across East Africa -- The Australian

THE Horn of Africa famine, which has killed tens of thousands of people, could soon spread to six more regions, the UN humanitarian relief chief said yesterday.

Weakened children and adults were dying on their way to relief camps and an extra $1.3 billion was needed to contain the crisis, said Valerie Amos, UN under secretary-general and emergency relief co-ordinator.

About "12.4 million people in Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia and Djibouti are in dire need of help and the situation is getting worse," she said.

Famine was declared in two Somali regions last month.

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More News On The Famine In Somalia

Up to six more Somalia regions may face famine: UN -- Reuters
Famine likely to hit all southern Somalia -- News24
Somalia famine: Refugees move into Dadaab extension -- The Guardian
Ramadan brings no relief for Somalia's famine victims as thousands struggle to stay alive -- New York Daily News
Fighting hampers aid effort inside Somalia amid fears of spreading famine -- UNHCR
Somalis Waste Away as Insurgents Block Escape From Famine -- New York Times
Somalia Famine Worsens as African Union Scrambles for Aid - -IBTimes
Somali refugee: 'We have to live here. We have no choice' -- MSNBC
US relaxes terror rules to speed aid to Somalia -- AP
U.S. to ease anti-terrorism rules to help Somali famine victims -- Washington Post
Morning Brief: As famine worsens, White House considers easing anti-terror restrictions on Somalia -- Foreign Policy
Somali Agony and the Outside World -- Andrew C. Revkin, New York Times
In the Somalia famine, Al-Shabab shows its fanaticism -- Globe And Mail editorial
Meeting Fate in World's Largest Refugee Camp -- Fiona Ehlers, Spiegel Online

Famine In Somalia -- News Updates July 25, 2011

Famine Children Dying On East Africa "Roads Of Death" -- Reuters

(Reuters) - Emergency food centers in drought-stricken eastern Africa are overwhelmed by thousands of starving people every day and mothers are forced to abandon their dead or dying children by the roadside, aid officials said on Monday.

Josette Sheeran, executive director of the United Nations World Food Program, told a conference in Rome that a deadly combination of natural disaster and regional conflict had created an emergency affecting more than 12 million people.

"We are seeing all the points able to distribute food completely overwhelmed ... our food is not adequate, so we are airlifting in more life saving supplies," she said.

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More News On Somalia's Famine

Horn of Africa famine: France warns of 'scandal' -- BBC
Somalia famine: Minister warns of starvation in rebel controlled areas -- The Guardian
UN Calls Emergency Drought Meeting -- Voice of America
Somalia: U.N. Hosts Emergency Meeting -- Time/AP
U.N., donors to meet on Somalia famine as aid groups seek more help -- CNN
UN Hosts Emergency Talks on East Africa’s Worst Drought in 60 Years -- Bloomberg
Famine in Somalia is 'immoral': UN aid coordinator -- Yahoo News/AFP
Flow Of Somali Refugees Puts Strain On Kenyan Town -- NPR
Famine in Horn of Africa May Lead to a Damaged Generation, UN Agency Says -- Bloomberg

East Africa's Famine Is A Catastrophe In The Making

Graphic: Famine on the Horn of Africa. Spiegel Online

Famine in East Africa: A Catastrophe In The Making -- Spiegel Online

Aid workers have long been warning that a famine was approaching in East Africa. Now that it is here, they are struggling to feed millions of victims of what is said to be the worst drought since 1950. The situation is likely to get even worse.

For a long time they hoped that the rain would begin falling after all. Only after their last animal wasted away and died did Batulo Mahmud give up and head out with her family. For four days and four nights Batulo marched southwards together with her husband and five children through Somalia's arid steppe. They had nothing to eat and only a little water with them.

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More News On Somalia's Famine

US, UN warn of 'acute urgency' over Somalia famine -- AFP
Situation dire in East African refugee camps -- Al Jazeera
Somalia famine: UN to hold emergency meeting -- The Guardian
Famine in Somalia puts nearly four million people at risk of starvation as desperate citizens flee -- New York Daily News
Famine in Africa -- CBC

Aid groups ready to work in rebel-held Somali regions -- Daily Star
US 'to aid Islamist areas of famine-hit Somalia' -- BBC
Access to Al-Shabab-Dominated Somalia Difficult -- Voice of America
Somali rebels say famine label used for politics -- Reuters

Famine in the Horn of Africa -- Financial Times editorial
The famine forecast -- The Economist

US Willing To Aid Islamist Areas Of Famine-Hit Somalia, But With Conditions

US 'To Aid Islamist Areas Of Famine-Hit Somalia' -- BBC

The US has said it will send aid to famine-hit areas of Somalia controlled by the Islamist group al-Shabab.

But US aid officials say assurances must be given that the insurgents will not interfere with its distribution.

The US considers al-Shabab a terrorist group and last year stopped aid to the large area of Somalia it controls.

The UN has declared a famine in two areas of southern Somalia as the region experiences the worst drought in more than half a century.

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My Comment: They could not pay me enough to take on such a job. That region of Somalia is one of the most dangerous in the world, and any foreigner would be too tempting of a target for kidnapping and extortion.

Somali Killings of Aid Workers Imperil Relief

Hunger And Famine Is About to Enter The Horn Of Africa Again

From The New York Times:

NAIROBI, Kenya — At a time of drought, skyrocketing food prices, crippling inflation and intensifying street fighting, many of the aid workers whom millions of Somalis depend on for survival are fleeing their posts — or in some cases the country.

They are being driven out by what appears to be an organized terror campaign. Ominous leaflets recently surfaced on the bullet-pocked streets of Mogadishu, Somalia’s ruin of a capital, calling aid workers “infidels” and warning them that they will be methodically hunted down. Since January, at least 20 aid workers have been killed, more than in any year in recent memory. Still others have been abducted.

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More News On Somalia

Somalia aid workers targeted for killings -- UPI
Naval Escorts Needed for Food Aid to Somalia -- The Media Line
Aid workers fleeing Somalia over threats -- Independent Bangladesh
Aid agencies fear Somalia famine - 18 Jul 08 AlJazeeraEnglish


My Comment: African governments, the International Community, and the Somalis themselves .... there is blame for everyone.