On the horn of Africa in eastern Somaliland, crops have turned to dust and animal skeletons litter the landscape. It鈥檚 a grim reminder of the severe drought now threatening as many as 20 million people.
CTV鈥檚 Melanie Nagy is on the ground in the self-declared independent region of Somalia which, along with parts of Nigeria, Yemen and South Sudan, is facing what the UN calls the largest humanitarian crisis since it was founded in 1945.
Nomadic farmer Farah Mohamed, 71, showed off the bones of dozens of goats that have already died since the rains stopped.
鈥淚 lost most of my livestock, my livelihood,鈥� Mohamed said. 鈥淲e are barely getting by.鈥�
Mohamed called the drought 鈥渢he worst I have ever seen.鈥�
It鈥檚 estimated about 70 % of the people in Somaliland are pastoralists. The drought is severely impacting their lives and livelihood.
鈥� Melanie Nagy (@MelanieNagyCTV)
This is all that remains of a camel.In ,camels are a prized possession. To lose one is devastating for pastoralists.
鈥� Melanie Nagy (@MelanieNagyCTV)
Meanwhile, dry riverbeds and empty wells are pushing people like Haweeya Ahmed to abandon their homes and flee their villages.
Fearing that her children would die, Ahmed says she trekked for days to reach a relative鈥檚 village, which still has water, at least for now.
鈥淲e share what we have,鈥� Ahmed said. 鈥淏ut we still don鈥檛 have enough. Everyone is hungry and worried.鈥�
In Somalia, more than 6.2 million people already don鈥檛 have enough to eat, according to the UN. That鈥檚 about half the population.
More than 260,000 people died in the last major famine to hit Somalia, which lasted from between October 2010 to April 2012.
The last famine to hit Somalia was in 2011 when 260,000 people died, about half of them children under 5.
鈥� Melanie Nagy (@MelanieNagyCTV)
The crisis is compounded by outbreaks of cholera and tuberculosis, political instability, and the presence of the terrorist group al-Shabab, which blocks movements by those trying to deliver aid.
There is also a lack of money. The UN said last month that it needed US$4.4 billion by July in order to avoid mass starvation. Canada鈥檚 government has so far
Patricia Erb, CEO of Save the Children Canada, is working in Somaliland and says it鈥檚 clear that more money is needed.
鈥淟ittle children are dying of hunger,鈥� she said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a food crisis and we need support to solve this.鈥�
Aid groups are helping providing emergency rations,getting water to villages,and giving cash transfers to help families buy supplies.
鈥� Melanie Nagy (@MelanieNagyCTV)
With a report from CTV鈥檚 Melanie Nagy in eastern Somalia
