Call for "preventative measures" to avert crisis

The Somalia Aid Coordination Body (SACB), which comprises donors, UN agencies and NGOs, on Tuesday called for "urgent preventative measures" to address the "worsening" food security crisis in Somalia's Bay, Bakol and Gedo regions. An inter-agency assessment mission conducted early this month noted a "chronic depletion of local resources and capacities to cope" which was rendering the population "increasingly vulnerable". The mission estimated that about 300,000 people in Bay and Bakol regions were in need of food assistance, with 73,000 of these "most acutely vulnerable". It said indications are that Gedo region is in an equal, if not worse situation, due to intense fighting in the area. The number of people at risk is expected to increase if immediate measures are not taken to prevent the destruction of livelihoods and subsequent displacement. "A coordinated approach by the international community is required to prevent the situation in these regions from worsening and spreading to other areas of the country," Chairman of the SACB Executive Committee J. Duarte de Carvalho said.