110 people have died in 48 hours in Somalia due to severe drought

Severe drought has killed 110 people in Somalia in the past 48 hours, Somali Prime Minister Hassan Ali Khaire said Saturday at a meeting of the Somali National Drought Committee. The death toll is specific to the Bay region of the country, but the United Nations estimates that as many as 5 million Somalis — roughly half the country's population — are in need of relief aid as ongoing drought conditions threaten widespread famine.

One in three Somali children are at risk of dropping out of school, the U.N. reports. "I'd love to go back to school, but I've been forced to leave because I'm the eldest child in my family and I need to work at home," said Sadia Omar, who has already dropped out. "I fetch water and grass for the animals, but now because of the drought there is more work."

Cholera also "broke out in Goof-guduud, Awdiinle, and Berdale locations in Bay region," said Mohamed Fiqi, a state agriculture minister. "Children, women, and old people are among the dead, the death toll increases."

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