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Transcript/ScriptSOMALIA STARVING CHILDREN (TVPKG)
HEADLINE: Aid Groups Say Thousands of Somalis at Risk of Starving to Death
TEASER: Drought in Horn of Africa has hit Somalia hardest, with UN saying nearly half of its 16 million people face crisis-level food insecurity
PUBLISHED: 06/15/2022 at 9:23 pm
BYLINE: Mohamed Sheikh Nor
DATELINE: MOGADISHU
VIDEOGRAPHER: Mohamed Sheikh Nor
PRODUCER:
SCRIPT EDITORS: djoseph, MAS
VIDEO SOURCE (S): All VOA
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV X RADIO X
TRT: 3:01
VID APPROVED BY: mia Daniel Schearf
TYPE: TVPKG
EDITOR NOTES: ))
((INTRO)) [[ The ongoing drought devastating the Horn of Africa has hit Somalia the hardest, with an estimated one-half of its 16 million people facing crisis-level food insecurity. Aid groups say hundreds of thousands of Somalis are at risk of starving to death, as reports emerge of children dying of malnutrition. Mohamed Sheikh Nor reports from Mogadishu.]]
((VIDEO-VOA: women and their children at a stabilization center catering for malnourished children, a doctor treating severely children, Fadumo Madeey mother to affected child.))
((NARRATOR)) This stabilization center for malnourished children in Somalia is run by an NGO, Action Against Hunger. It serves mostly poor women living in IDP camps on the outskirts of Mogadishu.
Fadumo Madeey left Goof-Gaduud village, a rural settlement in the southern Somali Bay region, after three of her young children died of malnutrition. She now lives in an IDP camps with three of her remaining children.
((Fadumo Madeey, Mother of Malnourished Children (in Somali 16,Sec)))
“Before the drought, we had livestock and farms that grew crops, but the drought destroyed them all at once. I had three children who died from malnutrition, and the child on my lap is suffering severe malnutrition because of the ongoing hunger crisis.”
((VIDEO-VOA: In a hospital ward Martini Hospital, 2 women nursing their malnourished children on a bed))
((NARRATOR)) The large number of displaced women with malnourished children, most under the age of 5, is overwhelming for hospitals. Families escaping the ravages of drought from all regions of Somalia see Mogadishu as their only hope.
Asho Adan is from Saakow town, in Middle Jubba.
((Asho Adan, Mother of Malnourished Children (In Somali 15 secs))
“We cannot grow crops and our livestock have died. The situation of our children as well as our lives are in dire danger. May God be with us."
((VIDEO-VOA: stabilization centre, mothers with their children))
((NARRATOR))
((Mohamed Sheikh Nor, For VOA News (standup version) ((English))
“Doctors say there is a risk of malnutrition that can cause more deaths if it is not addressed soon enough.”
((NARRATOR))
Dr. Abdirizaq Yusuf works and supervises the malnutrition ward at the Martino hospital, where he is also a director.
((VIDEO-VOA: images of malnourished children, followed by Dr. Abdirizaq Yusuf, director of the government-run Martino hospital))
He says there is a shortage of nutritional foods for children.
((Dr. Abdirizaq Yusuf, Martino Hospital (In Somali 13 secs))
“They must be given a therapeutic diet, such as milk with nutritional value for the vital strength required for malnourished children. The supplies that were donated to us by the United Nations are depleted now."
((VIDEO-VOA: A IDP camp and visuals of women and their children and the poor living conditions.))
((NARRATOR))
Meanwhile, at an IDP camp just outside Mogadishu, women and their young children wait outside their makeshift shelters for help. And the camp’s caretaker says families in desperate need of help arrive daily.
((Nasifa Hussein, IDP Camp Caretaker (In Somali 17 secs))
“On a single day, 10 vans with displaced people can arrive, the next day four, other days we have no new arrivals. Every day has its own challenges, there is always something different. You can see families being dropped by vehicles all day and they walk to this camp. That is the reality here.”
((VIDEO-VOA: A IDP camp and visuals of women and their children.))
((NARRATOR))
Aids groups say the Somali government lacks the capacity to mitigate the severe drought and malnutrition crisis. And without more help, the situation will grow even more grim for children.
((Mohamed Sheikh Nor, for VOA News, Mogadishu.))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)MOGADISHU
Embargo DateJune 15, 2022 22:00 EDT
Byline((Mohamed Sheikh Nor, for VOA News, Mogadishu.))
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
