The President of the Federal Republic of Somalia, H.E. Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, on Tuesday visited the Emergency Response Center of the National Disaster Management Agency (SoDMA), where he reviewed ongoing emergency relief operations and instructed all government institutions to give top priority to drought response efforts.
During the visit, the President received a detailed briefing from agency officials on the worsening drought situation across the country. The briefing highlighted the areas most severely affected, large-scale displacement, environmental degradation, and loss of life, with officials warning that the drought has reached a critical stage and could escalate into famine if urgent action is not taken.
President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud called on government officials, Somali business leaders, humanitarian organizations, and international partners to unite in providing immediate assistance to communities facing severe humanitarian conditions caused by the drought, in order to prevent a deepening humanitarian crisis.
In a related directive, the President ordered the country’s financial institutions to exempt from taxation all relief supplies, donations, and services entering Somalia for drought response purposes, with the aim of accelerating the delivery of humanitarian aid to affected populations.
