Concern over food insecurity in the Sool Plateau

The drought-hit Sool Plateau faces increasing food insecurity, having been bypassed by rains that fell in August in other parts of northern Somalia, a food security watchdog says in its latest report. In its September report, the Food Security Assessment Unit (FSAU) - a joint project of the EC and the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation - called for "appropriate responses" from the humanitarian community. The UN's resident and humanitarian coordinator, Max Gaylard, and acting head of the FSAU, Nick Haan, visited the Sool Plateau, located in Sanaag region, this week to investigate reports of a looming food crisis among pastoralist communities living in the drought-prone area. "The reports suggests that a humanitarian crisis could be unfolding in the area: the visit of Mr Gaylard and Mr Haan was made to confirm that the issue is serious, and initial discussions suggest that it is" Calum McLean, head of UNOCHA-Somalia, told IRIN. McLean went on to say that, "it is important that the humanitarian community, local authorities and communities work together to address the causes in order to prevent this crisis occurring in the future, as well as to alleviate the current problem." A Somali agronomist told IRIN that the problems in the Sool Plateau were complicated by the fact that the area is claimed by both the self-declared republic of Somaliland and the self-declared autonomous region of Puntland. The two regions fall geographically within Somaliland, but most of the clans who live there are associated with neighbouring Puntland. The FSAU report recommends an inter-agency emergency needs assessment to design appropriate responses to the crisis.