Qatar Charity (QC) provided food aid to families affected by drought in Somalia, benefiting 7,000 people in Baidoa, South West State of Somalia.

This comes in conjunction with UN warnings of famine in the country due to the worsening drought.

The aid, which included basic food items, aims to alleviate the suffering of 1,120 beneficiary families.

A new report from UN agencies shows that 7.1 million Somalis (close to 50 percent of the population) now face crisis-level food insecurity or worse. Of those, 213,000 people face catastrophic hunger and starvation.

Somalia is going through a catastrophic humanitarian situation due to an unprecedented consecutive failed rainy season that negatively affected livestock and agriculture, which are the sources of livelihood for many villagers. This worsening situation displaced them to big cites to save their lives.

Mr. Ibrahim Adam Ali, spokesperson for the South West State of Somalia, said that Qatar Charity's aid came at the right time, as Baidoa hosts the largest proportion of those affected by drought after Mogadishu, noting that Qatar Charity has been delivering aid and sustainable projects to Baidoa.

He added that the administration of South West State of Somalia is working to remove obstacles to deliver the aid to the most affected IDPs. He also praised the Qatari support for the Somali people and Qatar Charity's interventions in the state.

It is worth mentioning that the aid delivered by Qatar Charity since the beginning of the current year 2022 included 21 projects in various fields, namely food supply, health, WASH, and shelter. Some 438,261 people have benefited from these projects in many Somali states, including Hirshabelle, Somaliland, and Jubaland.