"Without access to emergency health services, water and sanitation, thousands of people could face death due to preventable causes," OCHA said in a call for aid, seeking $105 million to provide assistance.
Out of the 1.7 million people in need of humanitarian aid and livelihood support, 1.3 million risk "slipping into acute food insecurity" and up to 385,000 individuals already face severe food insecurity now, the organization estimated.
"We have reached a critical point in Puntland and Somaliland. Urgent action is required right now. If not, we risk a rapid and deep deterioration of the situation, as drought conditions may worsen in the coming months," Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia Peter de Clercq said.
OCHA noted reports of malnutrition-related deaths in the northern Somaliland region of Awdal, as well as falling family incomes and growing debt due to loss of livestock from poor pasture and water availability.
Its call for aid covers the 6-month period from April to September in light of "less than favorable" forecasts for the coming rainy season known as Gu.
It builds on the 2016 Somalia Humanitarian Response Plan, which has received $97 million of the requested $885 million to date, and the Somalia Contingency Plan for El Nino developed in 2015.
