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03 Aug 2011 11:14

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World: United Nations: Refugee totals from Somalia reach devastating new highs

  • 860k the number of refugees from Somalia that have left the country due to the debilitating drought
  • 1.5M the number of refugees experts say have been displaced within Somalia by the drought
  • 12M the number of people the United Nations says need food aid within the region source
  • » To put this in perspective: In Somalia alone, experts say that 3.7 million people are directly affected by the drought — roughly half the population in some places. And to be clear, “famine” is a loaded term, but one the UN only uses when the situation meets a very dire statistical level — we’re talking malnutrition rates above 30 percent.

28 Jul 2011 11:28

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World: Battles in Somalia over trying to get aid to the people that need it

  • 6 killed in a contentious battle to keep the aid flowing in Somalia source
  • » Militant group al-Shabab won’t allow UN aid: With millions of people prevented from receiving necessary aid in a region of the world that really needs it, African Union and Somali government officials have been forced to fight to gain ground against the al-Qaeda-tied group. Could you imagine leaders denying help to the people in their control when they absolutely need it? We couldn’t, but this is the instability that Somalia currently knows.

27 Jul 2011 21:34

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World: Somali aid begins to trickle in, but honestly, they need a flood

  • ten number of tons of emergency food delivered to Somalia earlier today
  • 3,500 number of children that can be fed with the food for one month source
  • » A drop in a chaotic bucket: With millions reportedly affected by widespread famine and political factors preventing aid from getting to over 2 million people, a lot more has to be done to ensure the health and safety of many affected by the historic drought currently hitting Africa. The World Food Program estimates that as many as 11.3 people in the region need aid. Fortunately, world organizations like the European Union are starting to chip in more money.

20 Jul 2011 14:27

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World: Somalia faces worsening famine, UN calls for action

  • 3.7 million Somalis face famine; UN says response is lacking source
  • » And it’s getting worse: Famine is a pervasive and devastating problem, and it’s presently burgeoning in Somalia, as well as Uganda, Kenya, Ethiopia, North and South Sudan, and Djibouti, to varying extents. The situation in Somalia is rapidly worsening, to boot — the U.N. believes that should food shortages continue unchecked for another one or two months, it will spread from its current concentration (mostly in Southern Somalia) and grip the entire country. The U.N. highlighting this reflects that urgency, as they’d like to see some international mobilization to ease this humanitarian crisis. Whether that happens remains unknown; it’s clear the U.N. feels the response has been far too anemic at this point.