Somaliland officials appeal for food aid, water for thousands of families affected by drought

"Officials in the self-declared republic of Somaliland, [in] northwestern Somalia, are appealing for food aid and potable water for thousands of families who have lost their livelihoods in the current drought," IRIN reports. "In February, [the U.N. World Food Programme (WFP)] provided food assistance to nearly 150,000 people in Somaliland, according to Challiss McDonough, WFP's senior spokesperson for East, Central and Southern Africa," according to the news service. Food insecurity in some areas is classified at "crisis level," with children, expectant and nursing mothers, and the elderly most affected, IRIN notes. "WFP is shifting its focus from emergency assistance towards targeted programs, including building reservoirs, wells and roads which support communities' resilience to seasonal shocks, according to spokesperson McDonough, who said that in the past year WFP had doubled the number of nutrition programs in Somalia," the news service writes (3/30).