The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it spent $13 million in August to help over 150,000 households in Somalia amid drought and inflation.

The charity said most households were in the south and central Somalia.

It said the households received enough money to buy food for a month, the first in a series of monthly payments intended to provide emergency relief to people pushed out of their homes by the severe drought battering the country.

“The purpose of cash assistance is to help the most vulnerable people to survive and to minimise debt,” the ICRC said in a statement.

It said each family was given $90 to cover the cost of food or other necessary items through a program the charity runs.

The United Nations warned that a historic fourth consecutive failed rainy season, skyrocketing prices, and an underfunded humanitarian responses have increased the number of affected persons.

“It has resulted in a 160 per cent increase in the number of people facing catastrophic levels of food insecurity, starvation and disease in Somalia.”

The ICRC said the drought had persisted for four consecutive rainy seasons and that its economic impact on the vulnerable communities was aggravated by the protracted armed conflict and rising food and fuel prices.

“With the next rain due in October, rural families, stripped of their livelihoods, continue to flee to towns, hoping to receive help from relatives and aid groups,” the ICRC said.

According to United Nations data, more than 30,000 people were displaced in May, 100,000 in June, while July recorded 83,000.

Since January 2021, more than one million people have been displaced because of the drought.

The ICRC said it supported agricultural cooperatives with training, drought-resistant seeds, farming tools and cash for the fuel needed to irrigate to help people build resilience in the face of the worsening impact of climate shocks.  

(Xinhua/NAN)