Speaking in Nairobi during the launch of the revised Humanitarian Appeal for Somalia, Acting Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia Christian Balslev-Olesen said the UN was seeking additional funding to respond to the critical needs of 2.1 million people whose already chronically food insecure and dire humanitarian situation has been further aggravated by the worst drought in a decade.

"This current drought is unprecedented in ten years and the impact it is having on food, water, health, education and livelihoods is alarming. With a rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation, the humanitarian community needs to scale up its current response exponentially," Balslev-Olesen told journalists in Nairobi.

"Nearly 2.1 million people are in urgent need of assistance. This is a race against the clock to stem the tide of human misery - - and if the Gu (long) rains fail -- a tragedy will unfold," he said.

"I appeal to all aid organizations, the government, local authorities and the donors to work together to alleviate the egregious effects of the drought in this country," he said.

The revised humanitarian appeal focuses on scaling up humanitarian activities in response to the drought conditions.

Over the last fourteen years, protracted civil war and persistent fragmented conflicts have eroded Somali livelihoods.

"While the operating environment for humanitarian organizations working in Somalia remains one of the most challenging in the world owing to difficulties accessing vulnerable populations, armed conflict and general insecurity, the humanitarian imperative is compelling and we have to find ways to overcome these challenges," said Balslev-Olesen.

"I urge the Transitional Federal Government to do everything possible to ensure access and security for the aid community," he added.

Source: Xinhua