About 40 years ago, the blue-green waters, along with a strong resemblance to the Mediterranean, once made Somalia, especially Mogadishu, the country's capital, a vibrant tourist paradise. Mogadishu was considered one of the cleanest and safest cities in Africa. Unfortunately, the Somalia of yesterday no longer exists. Today, Somalia is considered one of the world's worst humanitarian disasters. Currently, hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced from their homes and are suffering from hunger and disease. Two main factors are contributing to the growing health crisis in Somalia; drought and civil war. (Langfitt) Somalia has been suffering from the worst drought ever seen for decades. Drought situations have caused malnutrition rates to skyrocket across Somalia. In fact, malnutrition rates in Somalia are among the highest in the world: in the south, one in four children will die before reaching the age of five. Drought conditions have caused low supplies of food and feed, which has led to malnutrition, leading to a low immune system that makes the Somali population more susceptible to disease and death. (Langfitt) The Somali climate is divided into four seasons; the gu, hagaa, the day and the jiilaal. Gu is the main rainy season, which generally lasts from late March to late June. Gu is followed by a short period of drought, the hagaa, which lasts from June to September, and with the end of the hagaa comes the second rainy season, the day. The day begins in October and ends at the end of November. The cycle of seasons is completed by the long dry season known as jiilall, which begins in December and continues until the beginning of gu. The gu season is the most abundant of the four. The rains help produce a new supply of pastu...... middle of paper ......org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130384028 . NPR, October 7, 2010. Web. March 30, 2011. UNICEF, "http://www.unicef.org." http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/somalia_55880.html. Np, 02 September 2010. Web. 18 March 2011.UNICEF, "http://www.unicef.org." http://www.unicef.org/somalia/health_99.html0. Np, nd Web. March 19, 2011. United Nations Nation Unies, "http://www.reliefweb.int." (http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWFiles2011.nsf/FilesByRWDocUnidFilename/ASAZ-8DMKCS-full_report.pdf/$File/full_report.pdf. Relief Web, 12 2010/01 2011. Web. 16 March 2011 United Nations Agency Unite for Refugees, "http://www.unhcr.org." http://www.unhcr.org/pages/49e483ad6.html Np, 2011. Web. 14 March 2011. Wooldridge, Frosty com ://beforeitsnews.com/story/468/146/Somalian_and_African_starvation_rates_and_malnutrition.html. Before It's News, March 8, 2011. Web. March 30 2011.