Somalia: Agencies alarmed by child malnutrition

One in six children in Somalia is acutely malnourished because of high food prices and lack of access to staple foods due to ongoing conflict, according to an early warning report. The emergency is driven by a combination of conflict, hyperinflation and below-normal Deyr (October to December 2008 rains), the Food Security Analysis Unit for Somalia (FAO/FSAU) and the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS Net) stated in a joint report on 20 February. Lower and Middle Shabelle regions were the worst affected, although the situation had also deteriorated in central Somalia. FSAU and partners conducted 17 nutrition assessments between October and December 2008 and "from these assessments, eight reported global acute malnutrition [GAM] rates below the emergency threshold of 15 percent, three reported rates between 15 and 19.9 percent, with the remaining six reporting rates below 20 percent". The report said nearly 43 percent of the population, or some 3.2 million people, were "in need of emergency livelihood and life-saving assistance". The urban food crisis is growing and affecting some 705,000 people. "Of this total, 565,000 are in Acute Food and Livelihood Crisis [AFLC)], requiring emergency livelihood support and 140,000 are in Humanitarian Emergency [HE], requiring both emergency livelihood and life-saving assistance." Equally affected by the food price crisis are at least one million new internally displaced persons (IDPs) plus 275,000 long-term IDPs. Moreover, food access for the urban poor is severely constrained as people struggle with record prices. Prices of imported rice and local cereals increased by between 230 and 350 percent from early 2008. "These price increases are significantly greater than global cereal price increases," said the agencies. Although prices declined from October 2008, providing some benefits, they are still 450-780 percent above normal. The problem is worse in rural areas, where "650,000 people are in HE, requiring emergency livelihood and life-saving interventions. Another 565,000 are in AFLC, requiring emergency livelihood support." "The severity and depth of the rural crisis is greatest in the Galgadud, Mudug, Hiran and Middle Shabelle regions, where 50-70 percent of the total rural population is in crisis and where the number in HE exceeds the number in AFLC," the agencies said.