Beginning in late November the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) and SAACID began to provide daily meals in Mogadishu, Somalia. This marked the WFP's first "wet feeding" in Somalia since 1993. WFP and SAACID are planning to provide meals to up to 50,000 people each day.
According to a WFP press release, the agency was forced to start this program after fatal shooting incidents halted distributions of WFP dry rations in Mogadishu in June. As one-month rations of dried food are stored in the homes of recipients, they are more likely to be stolen than prepared meals eaten on site.
"The depth and scale of the crisis in Somalia is extremely alarming to us all - in some parts acute malnutrition levels surpass emergency threshold levels," said WFP Somalia Country Director Peter Goossens. "We urge everyone to respect this vital humanitarian operation, which is feeding the desperately hungry."
Goossens also said that insecurity in Mogadishu was also causing the disruption of markets with consequent hyperinflation. There is a lack of employment, and a shortage of medical and sanitation facilities. Malnutrition rates in the capital are rising, with acute malnutrition rates among children under the age of 5 years estimated to be reaching 15 percent or more.
With food assistance needs rising, WFP is appealing to donors to close a $31 million funding gap. WFP private sector partner YUM! Brands recently announced a $1 million contribution from the funds it raised during its World Hunger Relief Week campaign in October. This is the largest corporate donation to WFP Somalia. For more information: