Somalia children dying as drought, disease and far-off war hit country

Some 448 children have died in Somalia this year while an estimated 1.5 million are acutely malnourished as the country is hit by drought, disease and effects of the Ukraine-Russia war. Aid workers caution that the real number is likely much higher as the deaths of many children here go unrecorded. An estimated 7 million people or almost half the population of Somalia do not have enough to eat, according to the United Nations. Four consecutive failed rainy seasons, and the economic fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic have plunged Somalia into crisis. Then Russia's invasion of Ukraine and its blockade of Ukraine's wheat exports disrupted the world's supply chain. Sanctions against Russia sent fuel and food prices soaring, threatening to push Somalia over the edge. In Mogadishu, Mohamud Mohamed Hassan, country director for Save the Children, tells CNN's chief international correspondent Clarissa Ward the situation is worse than any he has seen before. "The wheat that is consumed in Somalia, 92 percent of it comes from Russia and Ukraine," he said, "The price of wheat has doubled in some areas." "The war in Ukraine has really exacerbated this situation," he added. Further compounding the issue is the fact that global attention has been consumed by the conflict in Ukraine. According to the UN, less than a third of the $1.46 billion needed for Somalia has been secured. "What's happening in Ukraine is understandably sucking up a lot of the oxygen," explained Lara Fossi, deputy director of the World Food Programme. "So bringing attention back to what's happening here, it has been really difficult." On the outskirts of the capital, makeshift tents at the recently established Al Na'im Camp are one of the many informal settlements that have sprung up, and then get limited support from the neighboring community, government and aid groups. The camp's administrator, Zamzam Mohammed, says its population has mushroomed in the last month, and it's now home to 876 families. That's a small fraction of the roughly 800,000 people who have been displaced this year by drought and hunger, according to the UN. The last week of June saw a record 36,000 new arrivals at camps throughout Somalia, UNICEF says. The agency and its local partner organization are working to improve sanitation and distribute aid in Na'im and other camps on the outskirts of Mogadishu, but say they are struggling to keep pace. Camp director Mohammed said she has overseen the burials of 30 children. Mounds of freshly dug earth, marked simply with aloe leaves and acacia branches are dotted in a line. "From that corner to this one, this line of graves is all children... You feel such pain, sadness when you bury a baby. You can do nothing to help. I am a mom and I can feel their pain as a parent," Mohammed said. She takes her headscarf to dab the tears streaming from her eyes. Some 500 yards away, Nourta Ali Humey sits outside her tent. Three of her children are among those buried here. They all suffered from malnutrition and died after contracting measles at the camp. She has yet to visit their graves. "I cannot bear to go," she told CNN. "The grief I would feel..." ICA/Expat Media
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