Iran sends biggest aid convoy to Somalia

Fri Sep 23, 2011

The Iranian Red Crescent Society's (IRCS) biggest aid convoy for the drought-stricken people of Somalia is expected to arrive in the country next week.

The convoy consists of the Iranian people's contributions which were collected by IRCS and the Imam Khomeini Relief Foundation (IKRF) in a nationwide fundraiser on food" on August 22, 2011.

The 5,000-ton shipment including foodstuff and medicine will reach Somalia by sea next Tuesday, IRNA reported on Friday.

IRCS has set up nine makeshift camps in the Somali capital, Mogadishu, housing about 5,000 families. There is also a mobile clinic in each camp providing Somalis with healthcare services.

IRCS has so far sent 15 humanitarian aid convoys to Somalia weighing about 600 tons as part of an initiative to supply Somalis battling with starvation and shortage of food.

The drought and famine have affected more than 11.8 million people across Somalia, Kenya, and Ethiopia. Somalia has been the hardest-hit country in what is being described as the worst drought in the Horn of Africa in 60 years.The UN says 3.2 million Somalis are in need of immediate life-saving assistance.

According to UN reports, about 3.7 million people in Somalia are on the brink of starvation and millions more in Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Uganda have been affected by drought.

Source: PressTV.
Link: http://www.presstv.com/detail/200787.html.