About four million people are still at risk of hunger in Somalia. Three million of these are in southern Somalia, according to the latest "Situation Report" by Caritas.

The report states one million people are living in a Humanitarian Emergency; 830,000 are living in ‘Acute Food and Livelihood Crisis’ in urban and rural areas. More than 750,000 people continue to live in famine conditions, including 260,000 internally displaced persons.

Added to this, “the much needed rain has begun to fall in much of Somalia, yet the production of this season's harvest will not be enough to sustain the population as a whole", continues the Report. Heavy rains have destroyed an estimated 100 dwellings in the Gedo region, displacing hundreds of people. Flooding threatens many low-lying areas, especially in Juba as well as the Shabelles and Mogadishu".

Consequently, there is growing apprehension about disease outbreaks associated with the start of the rainy season: Acute diarrhoea, malaria, dengue fever and pneumonia due to hypothermia. The World Health Organisation recently warned of a possible cholera outbreak in Mogadishu due to the increasing rains, poor drainage and sanitary conditions in the IDP camps.

In southern Somalia, advancing Kenyan troops in a border area between the two countries has resulted in new flight of populations, but at present it is unclear if there will be an increase in arrivals in the refugee camps in Dadaab (in Kenya).

Caritas Somalia and Caritas Internationalis have convened all Caritas organisations working in Somalia to a meeting in Nairobi on November 9th. The purpose of the meeting is to provide an update on Caritas programs in Somalia, brainstorm possible mid-to-long-term solutions for the country and discuss possible Caritas advocacy initiatives.

(news source: Fides)