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The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) said on Tuesday it has stepped up the humanitarian response in Somalia through cash transfers to mitigate the impact of the drought on food security and the livelihoods of affected rural communities. FAO representative in Somalia, Etienne Peterschmitt, said the current drought plaguing the country is the worst seen in at least four decades, adding that parts of the country are on the brink of famine.
Peterschmitt said FAO’s cash transfer assistance to vulnerable rural communities addresses their immediate needs and helps mitigate the collapse of livelihoods.
“This keeps families together during a crisis, reduces the risks associated with displacement and paves the way for faster future recovery,” Peterschmitt said in a statement issued in the Somali capital of Mogadishu.
FAO said its livelihoods response to mitigate the impacts of the drought on food security and livelihoods project is providing three months of unconditional cash transfer assistance to 6,050 families in farming communities due to drought in grade.
FAO has so far reached 5,519 families with three months of cash transfers worth US$1.06 million.
“With our cash transfers, we can quickly reach vulnerable rural families and help them cope with the crisis, but further and urgent scale-up is needed if we are to prevent famine in Somalia from happening again,” Peterschmitt said.
