Though Somaliland, on the Gulf of Aden, has 4.4 million inhabitants and its own currency, army and parliament, in the eyes of the world it is part of war-torn Somalia. More than 1.5 million people have been affected by the drought afflicting the state, and most of its livestock has been wiped out. In recent days, the drought has been compounded by an outbreak of cholera in the east.
Saad Ali Shire, Somaliland’s foreign minister, said, “It seems the international community does not seem to respond until there are emaciated and dying children on their TV screens. The drought has destroyed 80% of the country’s cattle and we are a pastoral economy. The bureaucracy has been so slow that in large parts of the country little or no aid has arrived.”
Saad Ali Shire, Somaliland’s foreign minister, said, “It seems the international community does not seem to respond until there are emaciated and dying children on their TV screens. The drought has destroyed 80% of the country’s cattle and we are a pastoral economy. The bureaucracy has been so slow that in large parts of the country little or no aid has arrived.”
Others estimate that about half of the country’s 18 million livestock have died.
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