Mogadishu, Aug 2 (IANS): Somalia has appealed to the international community to provide urgent lifesaving assistance to 5.9 million people who require humanitarian aid in 2021.

In a statement on Sunday, Khadija Mohamed Diriye, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, also decried the humanitarian funding crises faced by Somalia this year, warning that if action is not taken to address this funding gap, the cost could be catastrophic, reports Xinhua news agency.

"We are hugely concerned that because of the humanitarian funding crisis of 5.9 million Somalis, almost half the population of Somalia, including vulnerable children, women and men are at risk of losing access to the life-saving and protection services they desperately need," Diriye said.

The statement came after she convened an urgent meeting between her Ministry and federal member states' ministries for humanitarian affairs and disaster management in Mogadishu.

Diriye said the humanitarian situation has been aggravated by a double climate disaster, drought in some parts of the country and flooding in others, and the impact of political tensions, Covid-19 and the worst desert locust infestation in years.

She called on the international community and donors to secure urgent additional funds to support full operationalisation of the Somalia 2021 Humanitarian Response Plan and scale up advocacy and ensure Somalia does not become a forgotten crisis.

Diriye noted the significant progress made in Somalia over the past years and the risk the current climatic shocks pose to the gains made.