The mayor of the Somali city of Baidoa has told the Dorlinsal Global Resources’ Newsday programme that authorities are concerned that things will get “worse in up coming months” amid a drought in the country.
Earlier this week the UN’s top humanitarian official, Martin Griffiths, warned that "famine is at the door" after he visited some of the worse-hit parts of the country.
Abdullahi Ali Watiin blamed climate change and said the failure of crops was “one of the main issues". He also cited insecurity from the likes of militant group al-Shabab. “People cannot live comfortably,” he say.
He said that his city, Baidoa, needed support from humanitarian works as people were pouring in as “it is where they believe they will get better services”, calling it a “humanitarian hub”.
After four failed rainy seasons, the city has seen an influx of people who have lost everything because of the drought, which aid agencies estimate has caused more than one million people to leave their homes.
Some 22 million people at Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia are at risk of severe hunger due to the Horn of Africa's worst drought in 40 years, the UN World Food Programme estimates.