A Somali child eats near Mogadishu. One child in five in Somalia is acutely malnourished, the UN says. Photo: August 2009 By Martin Plaut, BBC Africa analyst The World Food Programme (WFP) is closing 12 feeding centres for mothers and children in Somalia. The WFP says it has simply run out of money and now has to make cuts. The decision has been made despite the ongoing crisis in Somalia, and the WFP says the reductions are now hitting people across east Africa. Despite the depth of the need, the WFP says the international community has failed to rally round with the funding it requires.  … And the country is also suffering from a severe drought. As a result the UN estimates that more than three million Somalis need food aid – half the total population. Put another way, one child in five is acutely malnourished, yet the WFP is having to close the services on which they depend. …

WFP to shut Somalia food centres via The Oil Drum