For the first time since the food crisis in the Horn of Africa began, a U.N. plane carrying 10 tons of food aid for children landed in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, on Wednesday, “as aid groups warned of a growing influx of hungry families from the famine-hit south of the country,” Reuters reports (Sheikh, 7/27).

Refugees in the capital told the Associated Press that members of the militant al-Shabab group are trying to stop men from fleeing drought-stricken areas, and in some cases killing them, according to the news agency.

Efforts by an African Union peacekeeping force to deliver water and medical care to people in camps in the capital “are helping to win over Somalis and counter the al-Shabab message, although there are no aid groups working inside the camp,” the news agency writes (Straziuso/Guled/Odula, 7/27).

Former USAID administrator Andrew Natsios in an interview with VOA News said while drought, crop failure and rising food prices have played a role in the crisis, “a lack of a functioning political system has likely made a bad situation even worse,” according to the news service (Mvunganyi, 7/27).

The State Department on Wednesday released a fact sheet on the humanitarian crisis in the region, outlining its response and funding to date (7/27).

The KFF Daily Global Health Policy Report summarized news and information on global health policy from hundreds of sources, from May 2009 through December 2020. All summaries are archived and available via search.

KFF Headquarters: 185 Berry St., Suite 2000, San Francisco, CA 94107 | Phone 650-854-9400
Washington Offices and Barbara Jordan Conference Center: 1330 G Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005 | Phone 202-347-5270

www.kff.org | Email Alerts: kff.org/email | facebook.com/KFF | twitter.com/kff

The independent source for health policy research, polling, and news, KFF is a nonprofit organization based in San Francisco, California.