UN official calls for attention to humanitarian situation in Somalia

The humanitarian situation in Somalia, where 2.1 million people are totally dependent on international aid, must be addressed right now, not only because of the severe drought but also because of recent progress on the political front, a UN official said Tuesday.

"It's not business as usual," Christian Balslev-Olesen, acting humanitarian coordinator for Somalia, told reporters at the UN headquarters in New York.

He recognized an expectation of mayhem in the Horn of Africa country, which has been torn by factional fighting ever since the collapse of President Muhammad Siad Barre's regime 15 years ago.

"Somalia is facing a drought, an emergency situation -- the most severe in a decade -- and this is coming on top of a situation where you already have all the most difficult indicators for human development," he said.

That situation puts recent political progress in danger, he said, pointing out that for the past month and half there has been a parliament inside the country for the first time.

"The two elements -- the political peace process and the humanitarian situation -- of course do present two different momentums. But they are interlinked," he said.

The 2.1 million people dependent on aid represent 25 percent of the population, he said, and include 400,000 internally displaced persons, many of whom are at risk of dying of malnutrition if the crisis is not addressed.

Source: Xinhua