Drought-hit Somalia moves closer to famine, says aid group.
Life-threatening child malnutrition rates are rising to alarming levels in drought-hit Somalia, the international aid group Save the Children said Thursday.
A new survey found "very critical" levels of severe malnutrition in two of six districts assessed in some of the worst affected parts of Somalia.
"We are on the brink of a massive catastrophe in Somalia with the death of three quarters of the country’s livestock, a rapid increase of children suffering severe malnutrition and the depletion of water stores in dozens of communities," said Hassan Saadi Noor, Save the Children’s Somalia country director, who said he fears seeing "children dying in significant numbers."
Less than 10 percent of children in Somalia are currently registered in a nutrition program according to the study, which warns that children could start dying "in the near future" unless immediate action is taken such as a major and rapid scaling up of feeding schemes.
"Donors have stepped up in recent months, however such is the scale of this crisis that even more funding is needed to address malnutrition directly, including improving access to food and water," said Noor.
"Children must be treated for malnutrition now … Famine is a distinct possibility for Somalia.
It is an absolute travesty that this is even conceivable when just six years ago this same region was hit by a famine that killed over 250,000 people."
The drought has left 6.2 million people – more than half of the population of Somalia – in need of immediate lifesaving assistance and a further 8.3 million in Kenya and Ethiopia are also need of urgent help, he said.

Somaliland: UN Staff Donates 7000$ to National Drought Response Committee.
Several UN representatives have donated a total of 7000 dollars to the National Drought Response Committee, showing the personal commitment of the UN staff in the assistance of victims affected by the severe drought in Somaliland.
This article was published by SomalilandPress.com: Representatives of UNICEF, WFP, UNCHR, UNDP, FAO, UN-Habitat, and the Resident Coordinator’s Office today [19 April 2017] delivered a donation to the National Drought Response Committee totaling USD $ 7000.
The donation represents a personal contribution from the salaries of international and national UN staff based in Hargeisa, a lot of whom have also separately donated to the drought response.
Speaking at the handover event, Gavin Roy of the UN Resident Coordinator’s Office noted that “this contribution is a symbol of the personal commitment of UN staff in Somaliland to do our utmost to help persons affected by the drought in Somaliland, and comes above and beyond the long hours and dedicated work that all UN staff are doing to prevent famine”.
H.E.
Sheikh Khalif Abdillahi Ahmed, Minister of Religious Affairs thanked the UN for passing on the personal contribution to the Drought Committee and for the overall increased assistance that is being given to assist people affected by the drought.
He noted that this donation was in addition to the USD $1700 that staff UNDP, UNFPA, UNDSS, OCHA, and RCO recently gave to the Drought Committee.
In addition to this personal contribution, representatives of the UN agencies briefed the Drought Committee members on their work to respond to the drought, noting that the UN is working hard to both mobilise funds and scale up response, in particular in relation to the provision of clean water, nutrition, cash assistance, emergency health and shelter, protection services, and distribution of agriculture packages to farmers.

Funding Available to Hancock County Farmers Hit by Drought.
The United States Department of Agriculture is making funding available to Hancock County farmers who may have been impacted by a drought last year in Pennsylvania.
The USDA has designated Hancock County as a “contiguous disaster area” due to a drought that occurred in 14 counties in Pennsylvania between May and December 2016.
As a result, Farm Service Agency emergency production loss assistance is available for farmers in Hancock County who suffered qualifying losses under the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act.
“It’s important Hancock County farmers impacted by last year’s drought seek assistance from the USDA in a timely manner.
These monies will not be available forever, so we encourage those who were affected to take advantage of this assistance,” West Virginia Commissioner of Agriculture Kent Leonhardt said in a press release.
Farmers who meet the eligibility requirements have eight months from the date of declaration on April 5 to apply for loans to help cover part of their actual losses.
The Farm Service Agency will consider each loan application on its own merit, taking into account the extent of losses, security available and repayment ability.
The agency has a variety of programs to help eligible farmers recover from adversity.
Interested farmers may contact their local USDA service centers for further information on eligibility requirements and application procedures for these programs.

BROOKINGS – In light of the dry range conditions forecast for much of central and western South Dakota, cattle producers are encouraged to review their drought management plans.
"Areas in central South Dakota that were not in drought conditions last year, are experiencing dry conditions right now.
Kelly encouraged those cattle and forage producers entering their second season of drought conditions to continue with management actions taken last season and make necessary adjustments to this year’s drought plan if dry conditions persist.
South Dakota Drought Tool This is an excellent place to start if your ranch does not have a drought plan in place (Figure 3).
"For example, much of western South Dakota was experiencing drought conditions last year (Figure 5), therefore average precipitation will not be enough to recharge soil moisture this year," Kelly explained.
Kelly added that cattle producers in central South Dakota who had normal precipitation last year need to keep a very close eye on precipitation and grass conditions for the rest of this spring.
"Producers in these areas need to have a drought management action plan in place if dry conditions persist and a reduction in livestock numbers is needed," Kelly said.
"In the Northern Plains, where rangelands are dominated by cool-season grasses, spring precipitation – April, May and June – the best single predictor of vegetation production for the entire growing season," Gates said.
If rainfall forecast predictions are below normal for the next three months reductions in livestock numbers should be made."
"This reinforces the fact that cattle operations in areas with normal precipitation last year, do need to start thinking about how they can reduce their livestock numbers and have a plan in place, if the precipitation outlook for the rest of this spring is below normal," Kelly said.

Drought Over, Showers Back On At SoCal Beaches.
DANA POINT (CBSLA.com/AP) — Surfers are stoked after showers at California state beaches that were turned off during the drought are flowing once again.
The parks department turned off the showers in July 2015 at the height of the dry spell as Gov.
Jerry Brown urged state officials to cut back on water use.
Brown issued an executive order on April 7 ending the drought state of emergency.
Showers at Bolsa Chica, Huntington Beach and Doheny state beaches were back on as of Wednesday morning, according to the Orange County Register.
Parks spokeswoman Gloria Sandoval says more beaches will follow as the agency evaluates the condition of public rinse stations.
San Onofre surfer David Matuszak says besides allowing beachgoers to rinse off sand and salt, the showers help reduce the chance of infections from exposure to toxins in the water.
(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.)

BOISE — Droughts can be harsh on the farmers who are directly impacted, but farmers as a group benefit from droughts because they reduce production and drive prices up, according to a University of Idaho ag economists.
“The old thing that drought is bad for farmers is just not there,” Garth Taylor said.
“The sky is not falling when there’s a drought.” Taylor pointed out that during the most recent extended drought period in the United States, the value of crop production in the U.S. set records in 2012 and 2013.
Crop value records were set in California from 2012-2014 despite that state suffering a severe drought and records were also set in Idaho, Washington and Oregon in 2012.
Taylor’s presentation came during a joint meeting of the Western Snow Conference and Weather Modification Association here April 18 “That was a very unique perspective and view on drought that I had not heard before,” moderator Mel Kunkel, an Idaho Power hydrometeorologist, told attendees.
In Idaho, he found that during nine drought periods since 1958, farm income or farm GDP in the state reached record levels.
“The more the quantity goes down, the higher the prices,” he said.
“That is very much overlooked when we look at the effects of drought and climate change.” Taylor told Capital Press that many farmers are initially shocked when he shares this data with them “but when you explain it to them, they understand.
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How drought and conflict have put millions on the verge of famine Millions of people across Africa lack access to enough food.
Northeast Nigeria faces acute malnutrition.
Tens of millions of people across the continent ― many of whom are children ― grapple with food insecurity day-to-day.
Here, VOA provides ongoing coverage of this critical story.
Hungry, malnourished children and families are pouring into squalid camps outside Mogadishu.
Read more.
March 21, 2017 East African leaders attending the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in Kenya this week are expected to talk about Somali refugees and regional security.
The Kenya State House spokesperson, Manoah Esipisu, said the repatriation of Somali refugees will be the main agenda item at the summit.
Read more.
March 6, 2017 This is not Somalia’s first drought and it likely won’t be its last.

Rainfall helps ease some drought concerns in Spartanburg County.
Hide caption Spartanburg Water reports Lake Bowen is nearly 2 inches above full pool.
TIM KIMZEY/Staff file Staff Writer @bmontgomeryshj Recent rains have helped replenish Spartanburg County’s water supply, though the county is still classified as being in a moderate drought, the CEO of Spartanburg Water said Tuesday.
Sue Schneider said lakes Bowen and Blalock are actually above full pool, which means they are overflowing with water.
Lake Bowen is nearly 2 inches above full pool and Lake Blalock about 1 inch above.
Earlier this month, the S.C. Drought Response Committee decided to keep Spartanburg County’s drought designation as moderate, the third of five levels.
Schneider said the variables that determine a drought can change from one area to the next.
“And our basin is strong, so we continue to have good water supply.” At its April 6 meeting, the drought response committee noted soil moisture across the state is below the five-year average, affecting spring planting of crops, and wildfire activity was 70 percent higher than usual in March and is expected to peak this month.
The committee will meet again in late May to discuss current drought conditions and change any drought statuses.
Along with Spartanburg, Cherokee and Union counties are also in a moderate drought.

Edna Kiplagat won the women’s race to complete the Kenyan sweep.
They were followed closely by Americans who grabbed two of the top four women’s spots and six of the top 10 for men – the first time that’s happened since the race went professional in 1986.
Rupp was 21 seconds back, and Japan’s Suguru Osako 30 seconds behind him.
"American distance running is looking good today," said sixth-place finisher Abdi Abdirahman, a Somali immigrant and Tucson resident who is a four-time Olympian.
Kenya had won either the men’s or women’s race every year since 1991 before being shut out in 2014 and again last year.
For Kirui, even when he was running shorter distances, he had his eye on Boston.
"In my mind, I was sure that one day I would win this race," said Kirui, 25, who was running just his third marathon.
Mr. Keflezighi, 41, said he plans to enter the New York Marathon, which he won in 2009, one last time in the fall before retiring.
Marcel Hug won Boston for the third time, outpushing 10-time champion Ernst Van Dyk down Boylston Street and finishing in 1:18:04 to beat the course record and world best by 21 seconds.
Evans, who completed his 52nd marathon overall, said he wanted to show that Boston is back to normal.

The drought may be over, but many water-use restrictions remain.
For the last five years, Californians have adjusted to a new reality when it comes to water usage.
Not much will change now that the drought emergency is officially over.
After unprecedented rainfall and the development of a robust Sierra-Cascades snowpack, Gov.
Jerry Brown declared an end to the drought emergency on April 7.
Many of the restrictions put into place during the dry years will remain, including those set forth in a May 2016 executive order, which determined permanent water use standards for municipalities, businesses and individuals.
The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) states that the following prohibitions, specific to San Francisco residents, will remain indefinitely: Using a hose, without a shut-off nozzle, for any purpose; Washing sidewalks, driveways, plazas, and other outdoor hardscapes for reasons other than health, safety, or to meet City of San Francisco standards for sidewalk cleanliness and in a manner that causes runoff to storm drains and sewer catch basins; Using drinking water for soil compaction, dust control, or other non-essential construction purposes if non-potable water is available; Watering outdoor landscapes with potable water during and within 48 hours after a rain event; Watering with potable water of ornamental turf on public street medians; Irrigation of landscapes outside of new homes and buildings in a non-efficient manner; Using drinking water in non-recirculating fountains or decorative water devices; Serving water at restaurants without customer request; and Not providing hotel guests the option to reuse towels and linens.
SFPUC takes a "progressive education" approach when it comes to enforcement of restrictions, says SFPUC’s water conservation manager Julie Ortiz.
"The next drought could be as soon as next year," said SFPUC spokesperson Suzanne Gautier, who has experienced five droughts since moving to California in 1978.
Read Michelle Robertson’s latest stories and send her news tips at mrobertson@sfchronicle.com.