Iran donates USD 25 million to Somalia

Iran's Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi says the Islamic Republic plans to donate USD 25 million to the famine-stricken people of Somalia, PressTV reports.

"The USD 25 million worth of goods will be sent for the famine-stricken Somalis," Salehi said on the sidelines of the Cabinet's meeting on Sunday.

The drought and the famine it has caused in the Horn of Africa nations have affected more than 11.8 million people across Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia.

Somalia is hardest-hit by what is described as the worst drought in the Horn of Africa in 60 years.

Last week Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei donated roughly USD 20,000 to the people of Somalia.

According to the UN, it is estimated that a quarter of Somalia's population of 9.9 million are now either internally displaced or living outside the country as refugees.

The United Nations has declared famine in five regions in the drought-ravaged Somalia, warning that the international humanitarian response to the crisis has been insufficient.

Somalia has been without a functioning government since 1991, when warlords overthrew the country's former dictator Mohamed Siad Barre.

Strategically located in the Horn of Africa, Somalia remains one of the countries generating the highest number of refugees and internally displaced persons in the world.


/Trend/