Famine looms in Somalia: What is Australia doing to help?

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Medical staff treat a malnourished child in Somalia.

By ELLIANA SALTALAMACCHIA

Aid agencies are calling on Australia to do more as Somalia heads into one of the worst famines in its history. 

The Australian government this month increased aid to the drought-stricken area by $20 million, but this has been criticised as not enough.  

Save the Children International CEO Helle Thorning-Schmidt this week said Australia could be doing more when it came to foreign aid.

“Australia should be big, influential … helping in humanitarian situations. Helping in development. You are doing that, but it would be better if it was a little bit more," the former Danish prime minister said on Monday night's Q&A on the ABC. 

“It feels like Australia is not taking its place in the world.”

• Links to some of the organisations you can donate to:
Red Cross, Plan Australia, World Vision, CARE Australia

Australian Red Cross senior media and communications manager Matt Fisher said Somalia’s situation was bleak.

“It’s currently standing on the brink of famine,” Mr Fisher said.

An intense drought is crippling the nation. This comes after South Sudan formally declared a famine in February this year, with Somalia tipped to be next. Other areas in the region also suffering are Yemen and northeastern Nigeria. 

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South Sudanese child Elizabeth Kegi receives treatment for malnutrition. 

Humanitarian agencies estimate 6.2 million Somalis – more than half the population – require aid, with three million needing urgent, life-saving assistance. It is also anticipated that 944,000 Somali children will be acutely malnourished this year.

The situation is so serious the UN has called for a massive scale-up of aid, seeking $825 million to provide life-saving support to avert a famine.

Somali drought victim Halima  said the community's elders had "never seen a drought as severe as this one".

“We named this drought Odi Kawayn, which is Somali for ‘something bigger than the elders’,” she told the International Organization for Migration.

Mr Fisher said if Australians wanted to help, the best way was through cash donations.

“In the past we’ve seen people try to send in items of clothing of what they perceive to be immediate pieces of equipment or food, and from our perspective, that’s never ideal because quite often it’s harder to get that to reach where it’s needed,” Mr Fisher said.

According to a report commissioned the Australian Red Cross, material goods donated after a disaster were sometimes not suitable for the climate or culture of the affected country.

Such items can cost thousands of dollars in storage and handling fees, and can have significant environmental impacts if they become landfill.

He said Australians who wanted to contribute should make cash donations to appeals such as the Australian Red Cross’s East Africa Food Crisis Appeal.

“In crises like this, that’s the best way for people to get involved.”

“We work with our international local counterparts who know what’s needed on the ground and where,” Mr Fisher said.

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Food being flown in to South Sudan.

Somalia is no stranger to famine. Famine was declared in 2011, the catastrophe killing nearly 260,000 people.

But the UN said the famine crises in Somalia, South Sudan, Yemen and northeast Nigeria  combined was the worst humanitarian crisis the organisation had ever seen. 

UNICEF UK’s emergency programs director Manuel Fontaine said in a press release that action had to be taken before Somalia reached the point of famine.

“Children can’t wait for yet another famine declaration before we take action,” Mr Fontaine said.

“We learned from Somalia in 2011 that by the time famine was announced, untold numbers of children had already died. That can’t happen again.”