President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmaajo on Tuesday declared the ongoing drought in Somalia a national disaster.

“The president has appealed to the international community to urgently respond to the calamity in order to help families and individuals to recover from the efforts of the drough disaster to avoid humanitarian tragedy” the statement said.

The president has called on Somalis to unite and help fellow countrymen facing the effects of the drought.

“The president is also kindly calling on Somali business community and diaspora to participate in the recovery operation efforts in the affected area with the aim to mitigate the impact of drought” said the statement.

The decision by Farmaajo  followed a meeting he  headed which brought together stakeholders involved in the  humanitarian efforts.

Some 2.9 million Somalis are facing hunger.