Boris Johnson in Somalia for Surprise Visit Amid Drought.
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has arrived for a surprise visit to Somalia and is holding talks with the country’s new president, a Somali presidential aide confirmed Wednesday.
The aide insisted on anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.
The British foreign office did not immediately comment.
Britain is appealing for aid for Somalia’s drought, which has been declared a national disaster amid warnings of a full-blown famine.
After his own recent visit to Somalia, U.N. humanitarian chief Stephen O’Brien said 2.9 million people in Somalia are at risk of famine and require immediate help "to save or sustain their lives."
He has warned that close to 1 million children under the age of five will be "acutely malnourished" this year.
But now the U.N.’s humanitarian partners have a larger footprint, better controls on resources and a stronger partnership with the new government, he said.
"To be clear, we can avert a famine," O’Brien has said.
"But we need those huge funds now."