MOGADISHU, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- More than 60 aid agencies on Monday called on donors to help avert famine in Somalia where 7.8 million people are affected by the severe drought which is ravaging parts of the country.

The agencies under the Somalia NGO Consortium, a network of relief agencies operating in Somalia, called on donors to put forward additional funding in the coming weeks to enable a massive scale-up of life-saving assistance.

"More funds are needed for life-saving interventions, emergency livelihood assistance and durable solutions, including the centrality of protection in the response as well as gender-based violence and protection," the agencies said in a joint statement issued in Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia.

According to the United Nations, an estimated 7.8 million people are now severely affected by the drought due to the unprecedented impacts of multiple failed rainy seasons and increasing food prices with the fifth rainy season projected to also fail.

The agencies said one of the key lessons learned during the 2016/2017 drought response was the quick difference that timely funding can make. Despite efforts by NGOs to reach out to the worst affected, the crisis continues to escalate with humanitarian needs expected to remain high through at least mid-2023, and more action and donor support are required.

The statement came a week after the UN warned that famine would occur in two areas of the country in the Bay region (Baidoa and Burhakaba districts) in South-Central Somalia between October and December and that these conditions are likely to last through at least March 2023.

The agencies particularly appealed to donors to channel quick, flexible funding to enable humanitarian agencies on the ground, particularly local and international NGOs, to rapidly scale up and prevent more deaths, protect livelihoods and avert the impending catastrophe. Enditem

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