Letter by 20 aid agencies warns suffering in Somalia will worsen

SOMALIA, already blighted by drought and famine, is at a “turning point” as conditions decline with hundreds of thousands more people likely to die in coming months, 20 aid agencies warned yesterday.

The situation was the worst seen by the group of international and Somali non-governmental organisations and was expected to deteriorate further.

“As NGOs who have worked in Somalia for decades, we are accustomed to the daily struggle to survive that is the reality for most Somalis,” they said in a letter yesterday, warning that upcoming rains would add to the misery.