MARY LOUISE KELLY, HOST:
Many countries around the world are grappling with the effects of the conflict in the Middle East. Despite the ceasefire, fuel and energy shortages continue. Food prices are up, too. But some countries are more vulnerable than others. As NPR's Fatma Tanis reports, aid groups say they are particularly worried about Somalia.
FATMA TANIS, BYLINE: Somalia is in a precarious situation. The country is beset by instability. Attacks by terrorists have displaced millions of people. Then came the droughts in 2022. Shukri Abdulkadir is with the International Rescue Committee in Somalia.
SHUKRI ABDULKADIR: The food security is actually becoming a more serious situation. We're almost nearing two years that we haven't had actually good rains.
TANIS: She says the country is not able to produce enough food for its population of about 20 million.
ABDULKADIR: Farmers are having, you know, difficulties keeping their harvest alive because of the lack of waters.
TANIS: Most of the foods available in the local markets are imported, Abdulkadir says, and the prices are high. In February, just before the war in Iran began, a group of U.N.-backed experts, known as the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, put out a report. It said, quote, "a staggering 6.5 million people in Somalia were facing severe food insecurity." At least 2 million of those people are in an emergency situation, which can lead to starvation-related deaths, according to Janti Soeripto, CEO of Save the Children.
JANTI SOERIPTO: Those levels we haven't seen in a while. And it's doubled since the last analysis in August of last year. So to see it doubling in less than 12 months is really concerning.
TANIS: Soeripto and Abdulkadir say now the war has made things a lot worse.
ABDULKADIR: We've been keeping an eye on sort of the top five products that people tend to buy, which includes rice, flour, cooking oil, but also sugar and powdered milk. That usually comes from the Gulf countries, actually, from Dubai.
TANIS: But shipments from Dubai have slowed to a trickle due to the blockade in the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for international shipping. Fuel has become another problem.
SOERIPTO: The government of Somalia is telling us that energy prices have gone up massively.
TANIS: Abdulkadir says she's seen an immediate impact.
ABDULKADIR: Urban centers like Mogadishu, where people rely on tuk tuks, rickshaws, people become less mobile and are not able to basically move their goods or to go to work.
TANIS: She says as a result, families are making less money and paying a lot more for food. Already, she says, there are signs of coping mechanisms families take to survive the reduction in food, like selling cattle or taking children out of school. Now until June is the rainy season, she says, and many hope it will bring much-needed relief. Fatma Tanis, NPR News. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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