Somalia: OIC Calls for Urgent Action to Avert the Risk of Famine

The General Secretariat of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has been following, with deep concern, the worsening situation in the Federal Republic of Somalia due to severe drought for the fourth year in a row.

H.E. Hissein Brahim Taha, the OIC Secretary-General, stressed that urgent relief intervention is critical to avert the risk of widespread famine to more than seven million people, noting that the OIC shares the grave concern of many humanitarian partners regarding this humanitarian catastrophe and the scale of the international response to the situation in Somalia, which is on the brink of famine. Brahim Taha warned against the slowdown in humanitarian intervention and the need for immediate action before it is too late.

While the General Secretariat calls upon the international community, the Member States, and its humanitarian partners to redouble their efforts to alleviate the suffering of those affected by drought and raise the level of urgent relief intervention to avert the spread of severe famine, it is fully prepared, through its regional office in Somalia, to cooperate with the international community and its humanitarian partners in this regard in light of its ongoing efforts in Somalia to support the Somali people.

The General Secretariat affirmed its commitment to implement the resolution adopted by the 48th Session of the Council of Foreign Ministers (CFM) held in Islamabad, Pakistan, in March 2022, which reaffirmed the OIC’s commitment to alleviating the suffering of the Somali people and urged for intensifying assistance to those affected by the drought.