Somali Envoy Calls for More UN Aid for Country on Brink of Famine

Somalis who fled drought-stricken areas arrive at a camp for the displaced on the outskirts of Mogadishu, Somalia Saturday, Sept. 3, 2022. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)
Somalis who fled drought-stricken areas arrive at a camp for the displaced on the outskirts of Mogadishu, Somalia Saturday, Sept. 3, 2022. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)
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Somali Envoy Calls for More UN Aid for Country on Brink of Famine

Somalis who fled drought-stricken areas arrive at a camp for the displaced on the outskirts of Mogadishu, Somalia Saturday, Sept. 3, 2022. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)
Somalis who fled drought-stricken areas arrive at a camp for the displaced on the outskirts of Mogadishu, Somalia Saturday, Sept. 3, 2022. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh)

Somalia's special envoy to the UN sought Wednesday to draw attention to the gravity of the crisis in his destitute country in order to mobilize more aid.

Millions of people are at risk of starvation across the Horn of Africa, which is in the grip of the worst drought in four decades after four failed rainy seasons wiped out livestock and crops.

"We are here to lobby, to bring your attention to the magnitude of this crisis, the level of humanitarian catastrophe in Somalia," Abdirahman Abdishakur told AFP.

During meetings with UN agencies and member states since the beginning of the week, Abdishakur has repeated that there is still "a huge gap" between the promised aid and Somalia's current financial needs.

The UN said at the end of August it had received 67 percent of its $1.5 billion aid target for Somalia. But with the fifth consecutive failed rainy season forecast in the fall, the amount needed will increase.

"If there is not enough humanitarian response... the famine will happen," Abdishakur warned.

UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths said last week that Somalia is on the brink of famine for the second time in just over a decade.

He said the situation was worse than the famine in 2011 when 260,000 people died, more than half of them children under the age of six.

"We have a very narrow window to save lives," Griffiths warned, speaking alongside Abdishakur at the UN headquarters in New York.

"People are dying today."

And children are being hit hardest. The number of children aged six months to five years suffering from severe malnutrition has shot up from 389,000 to 513,000, according to figures released Tuesday by UNICEF.



Trump Administration Tells Embassies to Rein in Criticism of Foreign Elections

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio takes part in a meeting between President Donald Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, US, July 14, 2025. (Reuters)
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio takes part in a meeting between President Donald Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, US, July 14, 2025. (Reuters)
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Trump Administration Tells Embassies to Rein in Criticism of Foreign Elections

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio takes part in a meeting between President Donald Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, US, July 14, 2025. (Reuters)
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio takes part in a meeting between President Donald Trump and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, US, July 14, 2025. (Reuters)

The State Department is pulling back from commenting on or criticizing elections overseas unless there is a clear and compelling US foreign policy interest in doing so.

In new guidance issued Thursday to all US embassies and consulates abroad, the department said that those outposts should refrain from issuing statements that invoke any particular ideology and that what they may say must be in line with President Donald Trump’s stated position that the US will respect the sovereignty of all foreign nations.

“Consistent with the administration’s emphasis on national sovereignty, the department will comment publicly on elections only when there is a clear and compelling US foreign policy interest to do so,” according to the cable, a copy of which was shared with The Associated Press.

The department has for decades issued statements highly critical of or questioning the legitimacy of certain elections, notably in authoritarian countries. That is changing as the Trump administration has emphasized an “America First” foreign policy approach centered on US interests.

“When it is appropriate to comment on a foreign election, our message should be brief, focused on congratulating the winning candidate, and, when appropriate, noting shared foreign policy interests,” the cable said.

The document, which was signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and first reported by the Wall Street Journal, said “messages should avoid opining on the fairness or integrity of an electoral process, its legitimacy or the democratic values of the country in question.”

In the past, US commentary questioning or criticizing elections aboard often has come in support of findings from various election monitoring groups, such as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe or US-based institutions such as the Carter Center, the National Democratic Institute and International Republican Institute.

The department cable said that amplifying the findings of outside groups or denouncing electoral irregularities can only be done with permission from senior officials in Washington.