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Food stocks
are being pre-positioned in Somalia in anticipation of a major
emergency.
Even
where there is aid, children who could be saved are now dying.
Somalia has been preyed on by warlords since the collapse
of central government in 1991.
Although
the border region is now stable, the country has a deserved
reputation as a difficult and dangerous place for aid workers,
and humanitarian assistance is often minimal.
In the
village of Radduhura, where Unicef are assessing needs, the
staff thought the chances of children like five-year old Noro
surviving were slim.
No
specialised care
Noro is
very thin. To live, he needs specialised regular feeding under
supervision from trained personnel - but there aren't any,
because very few agencies work in Somalia.
Noro's
mother received some high-protein mix but that will probably
be used to feed all the family. Jonathan Veitch of Unicef
predicts that many children will die.
In Somalia,
he says, they are used to seeing rates of child malnutrition
that would be unacceptable elsewhere.
For the
sixth year in succession harvests are expected to fail, and
the blow will fall on a population enduring a bare level of
subsistence.
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