What a historic day in the Somali media activities as the Somali Media for Environment, Science, Health and Agriculture (SOMESHA) [formerly the National Association of Somali Science and Environmental Journalists CC] organized one day national media conference on November 20th for expanding media coverage on climate change.
The conference was held at Tre-piano Building conference room in Mogadishu, Somalia. The conference was organized by SOMESHA in collaboration with the African Federation of Environmental Journalists and supported by the International Federation of Environmental Journalists (IFEJ). Among the media represented at the meeting were from 20 media stations nationwide including TVs, Radios, Newspapers and journalists associations.
“We have the right to set up how we can play our role as there are a great many environmental journalists around the globe who continually face a struggle to fairly report on issues that should be disseminated to a wider audience”said Daud Abdi Daud, SOMESHA Secretary General
During the one-day conference, the journalists discussed biodiversity, climate change, Droughts, water issues, and urban environmental problems in megacities, environmental journalism education, broadcast journalism and investigative reporting in newspapers.
Abdulahi Mohamed Shirwa, who heads the National Climate and Disasters Management Network, also said “Now you need to express the destruction of your land as your people are continuing to die every hour due to famine although the famine displaced people started returning back to their home regions after rains started”.
Mr. Shirwa, also briefed the participants on the humanitarian aid that Somalia’s national climate and disaster management agency has so far handled all over Somalia and its future plans to help the people affected by famine.
It was on July 20, when the United Nations declared a famine in two regions of southern Somalia owing to the worst drought in decades, and appealed for urgent resources to assist millions of people in desperate need of help. It is the first time since 1991-92 that the UN has declared famine in a part of Somalia.
Reprinted from SOMESHA's blog.
