When we speak about 1.7 million people in need of urgent assistance, we refer to a food security, water, health, nutrition and protection crisis.

What are your priorities now? We are looking at no food and water, these horrific security issues, all of these tens of thousands of people that need to be evacuated. Where is the priority? There seems to be an inadequate response in all areas.

We need across the board support and commitment of everyone to ensure access and protection so that we can alleviate the suffering of Somalis.

The drought compounds what was already a dire humanitarian situation and is affecting communities in areas beset by years of high malnutrition and morbidity rates, chronic food insecurity, clan fighting and suffering from consecutive bad harvests.

We need external assistance. It is not a dry season or a drought period, it's a drought.

I am confident that they (the government) are moving forward but we shouldn't expect too much too soon. There's been chaos and fighting for much more than 15 years and you can't fix that in a short time.