UN warns about high child toll in Somalia

The United Nations has warned that more than thirteen children out of every 10,000 aged less than five die in the Somalia famine zone every day. This means that 10 per cent of children under five are dying every 11 weeks. These figures are truly heart wrenching, The UN representative to Somalia Augustine Mahiga told the UN Security Council on overnight Wednesday. More than 3.7 million people face starvation in famine-stricken areas in Somalia, the worst affected by the humanitarian catastrophe that has affected more than 12 million people across East Africa, according to the UN. The deputy UN emergency relief coordinator Catherine Bragg said only half of the one billion dollars promised by UN member states for Somalia aid has been raised. We have not yet seen the peak of the crisis as further deterioration is considered likely, Bragg told the UN council. Bragg said more than 1.2 Somali children are in dire need of assistance. She warned that tens of thousands of more children will die if aid is not provided. The UN has declared famine in five regions in southern Somalia, saying the disaster will spread to all of the southern parts if immediate action is not adopted. The United States has estimated that more than 29,000 kids under the age of five have starved to death in southern Somalia in the past three months.