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Over three million Somalis in need of aid

The situation nutritional situation around El Berde, in southern Somalia’s Bakool province, has become so bad, with at least four successive failed harvests, that over half the town now needs food assistance. Nearly 30,000 people received rations in Dec Marcus Prior/WFP
    NAIROBI

    At least 3.2 million Somalis in urban centres, rural areas, and IDP camps will require humanitarian aid up to June 2009, says an assessment by the UN/FAO Food Security Analysis Unit and the Famine Early Warning Systems Network published on 4 February.



    Overall conditions in Somalia are not expected to improve over the next six months and delivery of humanitarian aid has become increasingly difficult, with aid workers targeted, security deteriorating, political tensions and renewed armed conflict.



    The October-December rains were largely inadequate in most parts of Somalia, leading to an extended dry period which affected crop development, pasture growth, and water availability. The Juba and Shabelle valleys, where the bulk of cereal production normally occurs, have experienced almost complete crop failure.



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    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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