Thaindian News

Nairobi, July 29 (IANS) The Unicef Friday asked people to support efforts to help around 1.25 million children in Somalia, who are in need of “life-saving interventions”.

In a statement issued in Nairobi, the Unicef said an estimated 640,000 children across southern Somalia were “acutely malnourished”, Xinhua reported.

“The children of southern Somalia desperately need our help. Too many of them have already died and many others are at great risk unless we act now,” said Rozanne Chorlton, Unicef Somalia representative.

“Families shouldn’t have to leave their homes, mothers and their children shouldn’t have to endure days of perilous journey in search of food and water and then face a life of uncertainty in a camp. All our energy should be focused on saving lives.”

The UN agency will start supplementary feeding of 150,000 households per month, over the next two months.

It is also working with partners to provide 8,000 people with three meals every day in locations where displaced people were arriving.

Three flights as well as two ships to Somalia have delivered life-saving nutritional commodities, she said.

The supplies included 653 tonnes of corn-soya blend, enough to feed 65,000 vulnerable children, and about 230 tonnes of therapeutic food to treat 16,000 severely malnourished children.

Another vessel carrying 410 tonnes of food is expected to arrive next week.

Unicef estimates it will need $117 million over the next six months to reach children in all of Somalia’s drought affected areas.