MOGADISHU (SD) – Somali Council of Ministers will contribute 20 percent of their salaries to help supplement drought efforts amid the country’s ravaged severe drought.

Prime Minister Mohamed Roble who chaired a meeting of the drought taskforce committee in Mogadishu directed the committee to channel the resources to the worst affected populations.

In a statement, Somali prime minister, Mohamed Hussein Roble called on the entire Somali community to stand by the affected citizens amid the worsening drought.

According to statement, Somali government approved one million U.S. dollars in emergency assistance to help citizens who have been affected by the worsening drought.

Roble said the government is making every effort to provide humanitarian assistance to the affected people.

About 2.6 million people, close to 22 percent of the population in 66 out of the 74 districts across Somalia are affected by worsening drought, the United Nations said.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) said nearly 113,000 people are displaced by drought across the country.

Somalia is experiencing a worsening drought following three consecutive failed rainy seasons, and is at risk of a fourth consecutive under-performing rainy season in 2021, according to the UN.

The move comes as the Somali government on Tuesday declared a state of emergency on the severe drought situation in the country.