UN: Somalia Group Shuns Aid For The Starving

The people in southern Somalia desperately need food aid but the Al-Shabaab militant Islamist organization will not allow aid agencies to ship food into the area, a senior UN Official said Wednesday. 

 Al Shabaab controls much of Somalia outside the capital Mogadishu and the population in the countryside is bearing the brunt of one of the worst food crises to hit the Horn of Africa in decades.

“The Shabaab don’t want to accept food aid into the area, and this is a time when we actually need food to go into the area to have an impact on prices.” United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia Mark Bowden told a press conference in New York today. “The Shabaab are accepting certain types of aid but they have a strong position against food aid…I would hope that [Al-Shabaab] would see the severity of the situation would require food assistance.”

UN agencies say the crisis is affecting more than 10 million people through out Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, and Uganda, while other parts of the region experiencing “pre-famine conditions.”

Bowden says the root cause of the current situation is rising food prices, which have been exacerbated by the devastating effects of a drought on local farmers. 

“The drought of last year severely effected local food productions,” said Bowden. “That coupled with international food price rises has created a situation in Somalia where large proportions of the population both urban and rural are not in a position to meet their food needs and the levels of distress are increasing throughout the country.” 

Food costs in Somalia have shot up 270% in the past year alone, and although it remains available in markets, the dramatic increases have pushed prices well beyond the means of the most of the population.

 Bowden says the international community has to take immediate action before the situation deteriorates any further. 

“If we are not able to respond rapidly and effectively there will be many more lives lost as a result of malnutrition.”

Most recent reports indicate 30 % of Somali children suffer from global acute malnutrition, a number expected to grow significantly in the coming months.