Mogadishu, March 8 (NationPress) The United Nations mission in Somalia joined the international community in celebrating International Women's Day on Saturday, urging local authorities to implement significant measures to promote gender equality in the nation.

James Swan, the Acting Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Somalia, praised the advancements made by the authorities so far and called for intensified efforts to hasten the existing pace of progress.

"Somali women are making substantial contributions to the peace-building and reconciliation processes within the country -- I commend them for their successes in promoting gender equality and ensuring the full involvement of women in all aspects of life," he stated in a message issued from Mogadishu, the capital.

Despite these commendable efforts, the UN envoy, who also leads the UN Transitional Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNTMIS), pointed out that Somali women still contend with systemic obstacles and prejudices that hinder the realization of gender equality.

He noted that this year's theme for International Women's Day is "Accelerate Action," stressing that if the current progress continues, it may take until 2158, nearly five generations from now, to achieve complete global gender parity.

"Therefore, there is an immediate need to tackle the systemic barriers and biases that women encounter," Swan emphasized, as reported by Xinhua.

International Women's Day has been commemorated globally since 1975, when the UN initiated the observance to honor the social, economic, cultural, and political accomplishments of women.

Annually recognized on March 8, this day acknowledges the socio-economic, cultural, and political victories of women after centuries of systemic marginalization.

This week, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) disclosed a funding shortfall of 297 million US dollars to address humanitarian needs in Somalia over the next six months.

Without extra funding, critical operations by the WFP in Somalia risk facing interruptions by mid-year, it warned in a statement released on Tuesday evening.

"Timely action is essential to prevent a crisis in Somalia," WFP Director of Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Jean-Martin Bauer stated.

Additional funding is urgently needed to enhance food assistance, nutritional support, water and sanitation services, as well as livelihood programs to alleviate the effects of an anticipated drought in Somalia, Bauer added.

The statement followed new data from Somalia indicating that 1 million more individuals could face crisis-level food insecurity in the upcoming months due to drought conditions, conflict, and rising food prices, which threaten to disrupt agriculture, limit market access, and escalate humanitarian needs.

The latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) analysis, released last week, reported that 3.4 million individuals are already experiencing crisis-level hunger or worse.

This figure is expected to increase to 4.4 million, nearly a quarter of Somalia's population, between April and June, coinciding with forecasts of below-average rainfall, which may lead to drought conditions.