Somalia is going through its worst drought in 40 years.
Suheyb and his mother Hodan receiving nutritional supplements.
Credit: Trócaire
Hodan has three children. Her husband works as a charcoal burner and is the family breadwinner. He works hard but the $3‒$5 he makes each day just isn’t enough. Eight months ago the family had a farm. But all their livestock died during a devastating drought, and they had no choice but to leave their home to try to find help.
In Somalia, one in seven children die before the age of five. Therapeutic feeding centres dot the country, but they are overwhelmed. The country is going through its worst drought in 40 years, and more than half a million farmers and herders have lost their crops and animals. Humanitarian agencies say they have less than 3 percent of the money they need to help.*
That’s why for the last three years, in partnership with Development and Peace‒Caritas Canada and Canadian Foodgrains Bank, your generosity through Mission & Service has been supporting a nutrition program in the Gedo region of Somalia. There, families receive nutrition education, supplements, and treatment for malnutrition in healthcare facilities.
Hodan’s son Suheyb was badly malnourished when she brought him to the health facility for care. She had already tried everything she could on her own and he wasn’t getting better. For just over a month, Suheyb received treatment. In the end, he got better.
“I never imagined that my child would recover,” says Hodan. “I am very happy to see my child’s health improve. I will continue to give him his therapeutic food regularly.”
Even though there’s enough food to feed everyone on the planet, conflict, climate change, disasters, and unjust systems that strip people of their resources mean that each of us has to be strongly committed to achieve the goal of a world without hunger. Please continue to provide immediate support and advocate for long-term solutions. Together, we can build a better world. Thank you.
*Al Jazeera, UN: Hunger crisis threatens half of Somalia’s young children.