MOGADISHU, Somalia – President Hassan Sheikh will leave Mogadishu for Italy on Sunday at an invitation of the UN Secretary-General to attend the UN Food Systems Summit in Rome on July 24-26.
The summit titled ‘United Nations Food Systems +2 Stocktaking Moment’ (UNFSS+2) will be held at the Headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) with the theme of ‘Sustainable Food Systems for People, Planet and Prosperity: Diverse Pathways in a Shared Journey.’
The president is expected to speak at the event on the current humanitarian situation in Somalia and the impact of the prolonged drought that affected half of the population.
Hassan Sheikh, according to the sources will have a bilateral meeting with some of the leaders in Italy on the sidelines of the WFP conference before returning home in this week.
UN said due to severe drought, an estimated 8 million people will need water, sanitation, and hygiene assistance in 2023, a 25 percent increase from last year.
A new report by the Somalia government’s Ministry of Health estimates that the drought caused 43,000 excess deaths in 2022.
