NAIROBI, 19 January 2011 (IRIN) - With drought worsening across Somalia, officials in the south and central parts of the country - largely controlled by Islamist opposition groups - have appealed for access to communities that have reported deaths of people and livestock.

"This is not about politics; it is about saving lives. Those in control should not only allow access but take part in reaching those that need help," Ibrahim Habeb Nur, a member of parliament, told IRIN on 18 January.

He said the drought could get worse in the coming months, with the affected populations needing urgent help after losing their livelihoods.

"We have reports of people dying because of lack of water and food," Nur said. "Every region from Ras Kambone [in the south] to Ras Aser [in the north] is affected.

"We are looking at two to three months with no possibility of rains," Nur said. "This is as bad as I can remember. We are facing a catastrophe and all us Somalis and aid agencies should pull together to save lives before it is too late."

He said the drought had forced many families into towns and urban centres in search of help.

Collective effort

The UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, Mark Bowden, said on 7 January that access to Somalia's most vulnerable populations remained critical and urged all parties to the country's conflict to grant access.

"The increasing threat of hunger and disease caused by the drought calls for a collective effort by all parties in Somalia to increase and facilitate access for a broader range of humanitarian actions," he said. "I call upon all those who are in a position to improve access to lend their support at this critical time."

A January monthly information bulletin, produced by Somalia's Water and Land Information Management with the Food Security Nutrition and Analysis Unit and Famine and Early Warning Networks, stated that "the very poor Deyr rains in November and December [2010] have aggravated pasture conditions in all key pastoral and agro-pastoral areas of the country, with water catchments and dams dried up earlier than expected".

Abdullahi Abdirahman Ahmed, head of the Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management Agency (HADMA) of the self-declared autonomous region of Puntland, northeastern Somalia, told IRIN the drought had affected the entire region and was one of the worst in the past 10 years.

"In some villages close to the coast, livestock have started dying; the remaining livestock is too weak that the people cannot sell it or eat it."

He warned that conditions in the next four months would be dire. "We don't expect any rains before May and people are already too weak and if help does not arrive soon, people will definitely die."

Ahmed said the people in the area depended on water from barkads (water catchments) for 80 percent of their needs but they had all dried up.

Dead livestock

In the self-declared state of Galmudug, in central Somalia, the situation is equally bad. Ahmed Osman Ilmi, an elder, who visited some of the drought-affected villages, told IRIN by telephone from south Galkayo that most of the area was experiencing a severe drought.

"I have seen dead livestock, including camels," Ilmi said. "The situation is really bad."

He said the eastern parts (coastal areas) were more affected. "They did not have much rain in the last two rainy seasons."

He said the local authorities and individual Somalis had begun trucking water, "but it is not nearly enough", adding that one water tanker, with 200 drums (each 200l), costs between US$200 and $250.

"I saw no one dying from the effects of the drought but if the situation continues I have no doubt they will follow their livestock [and die]," Ilmi said. "Help is urgently needed."

An estimated two million Somalis need humanitarian assistance, according to the UN. At least 1.4 million Somalis have been displaced by fighting between government forces and Islamic insurgents, who control much of south and central Somalia, including parts of Mogadishu. Another 600,000 are refugees in neighbouring countries.

Government needs to do something about this as urgent as possible.