WDM EDITORIAL

Is there an agency to check and control market price hikes that most often triple on stable customer goods and basic foodstuffs in Puntland?

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, followed by the impact of severe drought and war in Ukraine causing dramatic reduction of grain import, we have been seeing destitute women and children in the streets of Puntland towns. When there is a problem of hunger and nobody seems to care about the plight of the poor in a country where humanitarian food banks to feed the hungry are unknown, the situation becomes not only desperate, but also a curse in human tragedy. Something must be done to avoid mass starvation. Now you can’t cross the street without being confronted by multitudes of begging hands. The problem of dollar-based transactions in Puntland adds to the dire situation of the needy.

To confront this scale of poverty and hunger, we need three things to happen hand-in-hand:

1. A compassioned society to care for the disabled and vulnerable. To offer some relief to the hungry, we have to setup feeding centres and donate to food banks so established for the purpose. Mosques are not equipped and can’t handle such magnitude of misery.

2. A government agency to study the situation and submit expert recommendations on how to tackle with the whole issue of speculative market prices on basic commodities, and the main factors contributing to this unprecedented poverty in Puntland State.

3. International humanitarian organizations must change their modus operandi to come up with fresh ideas to alleviate the dire plight of Somali poor and hungry. It is unprecedented situation that requires unprecedented approaches to help the affected population.