Mogadishu: The Apostolic Administrator of Mogadishu, the only Catholic Diocese in the country, Bishop Giorgio Bertin, said that the famine situation is worsening in the East African country of Somalia.

He explains that the food shortage has been exacerbated by the worst drought in four decades. Bishop Berthin revealed that the Church is actively working to bring humanitarian aid to millions of people in the dire situation. He said the first to feel the brunt of the drought are the semi-nomadic people whose livelihood is cattle rearing and agriculture.

According to an estimate by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), due to this year’s severe drought, the number of people who had to leave their homes and places in Somalia to hide in other places is more than 755,000. According to the estimate from 2021 onwards, their number is ten lakh.

Bishop Giorgio Bertin has been the Apostolic Administrator of Mogadishu since 2001 and is a direct witness of the humanitarian emergency. He confirmed to Vatican News that the situation is dire.

Last week, the Italian-born bishop, accompanied by the Apostolic Delegate for Somalia, Archbishop Antoine Camilleri, met with a government official in charge of emergency humanitarian aid who told them the situation is "particularly difficult in the South-West, the Central regions and part of the North-East of Somaliland”.

Mohamed Abdi, the head of the NRC in Somalia, expressed concern that severe food shortages as a result of the drought could affect between 5 million and 7 million people. He said that hunger is haunting the whole day and there is an urgent need to increase financial assistance before it is too late.

The climate-related crisis is exacerbated by the rising food prices due to the war in Ukraine.

"Famine is now haunting the entire country. We are seeing more and more families forced to leave everything because there is literally no water or food in their villages,” warned Abdi. “There is an urgent need to increase funding for the help before it's too late.”

In these areas, the most vulnerable populations are semi-nomads, living of their herds and agriculture. "If there is no rain, they are the first ones to be affected," said Bishop Bertin. Forced to flee their land, they crowd up in the outskirts of the main cities of the country.

For several years the Catholic Church has been active in relief efforts through the local Caritas, which works on the ground with Somali organizations.

Some areas are difficult to reach for security reasons, due to ongoing conflict and political instability in the country.

In June the UN High Commissioner for Refugees announced it needed $42.6 million to help 1.5 million internally displaced people, refugees and members of host communities affected by drought in Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia.

Bishop Bertin told Vatican News that a new international appeal for solidarity with Somalia will be launched in the coming days with the support of Caritas Internationalis.