'Nearly 8.3M people across Somalia facing food crisis in 2023'

Approximately 8.3 million people across Somalia are likely to face crisis or worse levels of acute food insecurity between April and June 2023, according to a report released on Tuesday.

"This unprecedented level of need within Somalia is driven by the impacts of five consecutive seasons of poor rainfall, a likely sixth season of below-average rainfall from March to June 2023, and exceptionally high food prices, exacerbated by concurrent conflict/insecurity and disease outbreaks," read a joint report by UN and other international humanitarian groups.

Baidoa, the administrative capital of Somalia's South West state, and the town of Burkahaba are to likely face a famine between April and June 2023, the report said.

These areas are already currently experiencing very high levels of acute malnutrition, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

An analysis by the aid groups in August found a "total estimated acute malnutrition burden in Somalia reaching approximately 1.8 million children, including 513,550 children who are likely to be severely malnourished, through July 2023," the report said.

Several areas in central and southern Somalia also have an increased risk of famine between April and June next year "if rainfall turns out to be poorer than currently predicted, leading to more crop and livestock production failures and humanitarian assistance does not reach the country's most vulnerable populations," it added.

Areas facing this heightened risk of famine include the central provinces of Hiran and settlements for displaced people in Garowe, Galkacyo, and Dollow, a town bordering Ethiopia.

Somalia is currently experiencing one of the worst droughts in its recent history, which has killed millions of livestock and displaced more than a million people.

The Somali government has declared the drought a "national humanitarian emergency" and appealed for international support to avert a looming famine.