Somaliland is struggling on toxic drought with extreme climate conditions, where in the last two years, below average and unpredictable rainfall provoked severe droughts.
The Somaliland Drought is in disaster situation particularly the eastern regions of the country, the drought has caused shortages of water and pasture, leading to the death of livestock – a lifeline for the pastoralist communities.
The drought has been going on for two years in Somaliland. Pastoralists have been moving in search of water and food for themselves and their animals not only Somaliland regions but also Puntland regions that also the droughts have been effected.
The rural populations in western regions and in eastern Sanaag have already lost the major part of their livestock assets and now more and more people from the eastern, regions are joining their ranks as the drought progresses
However, there is no humanitarian support from international communities thus the government of Somaliland shore up to its power so far, but the international NGOs, Donors, have not yet been received any aid to support those people,
The Impacts of this drought is larger than what everyone thought, currently it’s in the worsts stages, Shortage of water, food, people and livestock are in famine and the flanking rain will be in few months in time
We must ensure to act now in order to save lives and ensure that the effected communities can quickly recover when GU rains come calling
Some droughts can be managed by the proper use of this valuable resource. Through appropriate use and educating their clients, water dealers and treatment professionals can help preserve the freshwater supply. As the global population grows, water demand will continue to increase, so humans’ roles as water stewards must be embraced today.
Therefore, the Populations have little direct control over meteorological drought. Unfortunately, humans cannot control the weather, but they can help prevent or minimize the effects of the other three types through conservation, smart irrigation technology and charitable giving
We gently appealing for the international community to act now before the situation reaches from an alarming stage to crisis level to a tipping point
As result to this situation the government of Somaliland and international communities should do something about this famine, prevent this drought before it destroyed the communities 2. To create a strategy to tackle the droughts for instant this current situation needs to be
I am decently proposing to use these approaches to tackle this current famine situation and the forthcoming macroclimate circumstances in Somaliland.
- Groundwater drilling so the people could access a clean water.
- Building dams to reserve the rain and make Shelter container plants to conserve water, in order use the water in tough situations
- Move containers to areas with partial shade to keep them from drying quickly in hot windy areas and Use barrels to collect rainwater
- Stock sufficient food from all the food donations that received from international donors
- Build the capacity of farmers, drilling them for wall, giving them a seeds
- Install a drip or other water conserving irrigation system and irrigation systems
- Above all the community should preserve the water we have
- Less water intensive crops should be advised for farmers in drought prone areas like eastern regions Somaliland Sool and Sanaag regions
- Water pipelines to be provided for drought prone areas
People can help minimize this type of drought, too. Everyone can help through charitable giving and volunteer work with organizations that dig wells and provide treatment systems for villages, cities and other areas that do not have access to clean water for drinking and bathing.
I believe this kind of actions cannot have been done by one on part but together as the local communities, the governments of Somaliland and the international communities should take their part to prevent this severe drought and support the effected ones
By: Khalid A. Hirsi
