UN warns of humanitarian disaster in Sool Plateau

The UN's World Food Programme has appealed for funds to avert a humanitarian disaster in northern Somalia's Sool Plateau. In a press release on Tuesday, the WFP Representative for Somalia Robert Hauser noted that the area had been devoid of rain for a long time and groundwater reserves were drying up. WFP was expanding its operations to respond to "the worst drought to hit the region since 1981". "We need to intervene immediately to prevent widescale malnutrition and stave off a humanitarian disaster," Hauser warned. Some 60,000 vulnerable people are facing severe food shortages in the region. WFP noted that the Sool Plateau - covering parts of Sool and Sanaag districts in Somaliland, as well as parts of Bari district in Puntland - had suffered three consecutive years of drought. "WFP urgently needs more funds if we're to continue our planned assistance over the next five months," Hauser said. "We need some US $6.5 million to buy about 8,600 tonnes of food aid."