Italy's overseas aid cooperation agency is donating 500,000 euros for the most vulnerable in Somalia, where the threat of famine is looming due to prolonged drought, rising commodity prices and an international aid shortfall.
"In response to the long drought affecting the Horn of Africa, and its consequences, Italian Cooperation is providing emergency funding of 500,000 euros for the work of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in Somalia," the foreign ministry said in a statement on Friday.
"The funding is a concrete example of the Italian Government’s solidarity with the population of Somalia," the statement underlined.
More than 7 million people in Somalia - over 40% of the population - are struggling to find food and aid workers estimate that 1.4 million children are severely malnourished.
The Italian government has in recent weeks given emergency funding to the United Nations World Food Programme to help it tackle food crises in Kenya (500,000 euros), Sri Lanka (300,000 euros) and Uganda (200,000 euros).
