Somalia's Agriculture Minister Abdullahi Hagi Mohamed Nuur
Friday, August 19, 2011
Speaking at the “Emergency in the Horn of Africa” meeting in Rome on Thursday, the senior Somali official pointed to the growing famine in his country and thanked Iranians for dispatching foodstuff and medicine to the drought-stricken people of Somalia, IRIB reported.
Meanwhile, Somalia's Ambassador to Italy Nur Hassan Hussein hailed Iran's aid deliveries to help with the relief of famine-hit Somalia. He said the Islamic Republic of Iran pioneers in the shipment of humanitarian aid cargos to the African country.
The Somali envoy also called on the Iranian government and nation to continue delivering relief aid for the Somali people during a time of severe drought and famine.
The third planeload of Iran's Red Crescent Society humanitarian aid shipment for Somalis landed in Aden-Adde International Airport in the capital Mogadishu early on Thursday.
The 60-ton consignment of the Islamic Republic's humanitarian aid comprises foodstuff and medicine.
The report comes as Iran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi is scheduled to visit Somalia in the next few days to speed up the distribution of Iranian aid to the famine-hit nation.
During his stay in Mogadishu, Salehi will meet Somali authorities and discuss the supplies most needed by the famine-stricken Horn of Africa country as well as increasing the speed of aid delivery and distribution among Somali citizens.
The main part of Iran's humanitarian aid to Somalia will also be handed over to the country's relief organizations during Salehi's visit.
Iran plans to dispatch its fourth humanitarian aid convoy to Somalia by sea from the Bandar Abbas port city, in southern Iran.
The United Nations has warned that more than 13 out of every 10,000 children aged less than five die in the Somalia famine zone every day.
"This means that 10 percent of children under five are dying every 11 weeks. These figures are truly heart-wrenching," UN representative to Somalia Augustine Mahiga told the UN Security Council last Wednesday.
The drought and famine have affected more than 11.8 million people across Somalia, Kenya, and Ethiopia. Somalia has been the hardest-hit country in what is being described as the worst drought in the Horn of Africa in 60 years.
According to the United Nations, it is estimated that a quarter of Somalia's population of 9.9 million are now either internally displaced or living outside the country as refugees.
The UN has declared famine in five regions in Somalia and said that the international humanitarian response to the crisis has been insufficient.
Somalia has been without a functioning government since 1991, when warlords overthrew dictator Mohamed Siad Barre in the African country.