United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has warned that over 2.7 million Somalis could face acute food shortage in 2021.
OCHA issued this warning on February 17, 2021.
The global organization attributes this situation to the climate shocks that experts predict will hit Somalia this year.
Some of the shocks could arise from La Nina and a harsh jilaal dry season.
The dry season is expected between January and March.
Climate experts also expect poor Gu rains from April to June this year, which could worsen the situation further.
Consequently, roughly 2.7 million people would experience acute food insecurity and emergency by the middle of this year.
These would then have a serious effect on Somalia’s fight against COVID-19.
Already, the country is in the middle of a second wave of the deadly disease.
The huge gaps in the country’s healthcare could expose up to 20 percent of Somalia’s population to experience the full impact of COVID-19 directly or indirectly.
OCHA believes that the situation is much worse in Somalia’s rural areas where people struggle to access quality healthcare, or healthcare of any kind.