Prolonged Drought in Somalia Exposing Families to “weakened immunity”: Catholic Entity

In the January 11 report, officials of the Catholic entity say that the negative effects of the protracted drought in Somalia have also affected women, especially lactating mothers.

“Because of weakened immunity triggered by the inability to access nutrition, many children (as well as pregnant and lactating women) are at extreme risk of becoming severely malnourished,” they say.

The situation is worsened by the poor settings in internally Displaced Camps (IDP) where there are so many people living under poor sanitation, which “leads to infectious and communicable diseases,” Trócaire officials say.

They make reference to the eight-month-old Farhan Weheliye and his family who they say were forced to vacate their home for a better life due to the effects of drought.

“Currently the family is living in an internally displaced people (IDP) camp in Belet Hawa near the Kenyan border, but they are struggling to make ends meet,” Trócaire officials say in the January 11 report.

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They add, “There is no stable means of income in the camp and although his father works casual jobs, he’s only able to bring in $1 to $2 a day, not enough to meet their basic needs.”

The officials of the Catholic entity go on to say that the $1 to $2 a day is not enough to support a family as inflation is also threatening the Horn of Africa nation. 

They say that due to the drought crisis, Farhan is among hundreds of children admitted to the hospital with severe malnutrition and additional medical complications. 

When babies are living with food insecurity, the officials say in reference to Farhan’s condition, “an important indicator of health is the circumference of their upper arms. This little boy was so small; his upper arms were less than 10 cm in circumference.”

Farhan’s mother is quoted as telling Trócaire that “the weather is harsh; life is more difficult for the children, they are very thin and sick most of the time due to lack of food and extreme weather conditions at night and day.”

Officials of the overseas development agency of the Catholic Bishops of Ireland say that the emergency nutrition services that the health units of their entity have been providing to Farhan’s family have been of great importance as they have not been “able to receive other humanitarian support at this time.”

Silas Mwale Isenjia is a Kenyan journalist with a great zeal and interest for Catholic Church related communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Linguistics, Media and Communication from Moi University in Kenya. Silas has vast experience in the Media production industry. He currently works as a Journalist for ACI Africa.