Monday July 24, 2023
Rome (HOL) - Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud has
arrived in Roma, Italy to participate in the UN Food Systems Stocktaking Moment at
the headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
(FAO) from July 24 to 26.
During the three-day high-level meeting, participating
countries will review the progress made on the commitments to action set forth
at the first Food Systems Summit in 2021. The aim is to identify successes,
address ongoing challenges, and prioritize future priorities.
In addition to attending the UN event, the Somali government
has reported that President Mohamud will also take part in other regional
conferences in Rome, including a trilateral meeting between the governments of
Somalia, Ethiopia, and Italy.
On Wednesday, Rome hosted the UN Humanitarian Conference for
the Horn of Africa, where the Italian government discussed how it could help
the region face challenges such as the increasingly worrying drought.
As part of its assistance efforts, Italy pledged to donate
€40 million to the UN Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) and earmarked an
additional €30 million for humanitarian interventions and development
initiatives.
Somalia faces catastrophic hunger, with the country
devastated by the extreme drought in the Horn of Africa. A total of 6.5 million
people face acute food insecurity amid the driest conditions in 40 years.
Drought is compounding other recurrent climate shocks, persistent insecurity
and instability.