The crisis continues but thank God for rain! - originally posted 1.11.2011

As rains begin to fall in southern and central Somalia, the long drought is at an end and aid agencies there are re-appraising the famine situation.

According to Andrew Harding, BBC Africa correspondent, the rain brings new risks, not least the fear of communicable diseases such as measles and cholera, which could so easily become rife in the crowded camps around Mogadishu.
So far the roads are surviving the rain and much needed food aid is continuing to be delivered to the hundreds of thousands who left their homes. 
For those who remained in rural areas the rain means it is time to plant. To do so requires both seed to plant and food aid to enable people to work.
The agency partners of the Disasters Emergency Committee & the World Food Programme are able to access and assist all but a few of the areas worst affected by the famine.
Due to the control of Somali Islamist militia, al-Shabaab, some areas remain inaccessible to all but ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross), which has already 'helped more than a million people and distributed 17,000 metric tons of food and seeds'. 
For the full story see Andrew Harding's article, courtesy of BBC.

For more stories about the DEC East Africa Crisis Appeal and the varied work of DEC partner agencies in the Horn of Africa, visit East Africa Crisis Appeal Updates.

The crisis is far from over! 

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Originally posted 1.11.2011