SOME 300000 people face severe food shortages in Somalia’s southern Bay, Bakol and Gedo regions, prompting aid agencies to appeal Friday for urgent preventive measures to address a worsening crisis. About 73000 people are acutely vulnerable, said a statement by the multi-agency Somali Aid Co-ordination Body (SACB), citing an inter-agency assessment which found that a chronic depletion of local resources and capacities to cope is rendering the population increasingly vulnerable. The SACB, which comprises donors, United Nations agencies and non-governmental organisations, said indications are that Gedo region is in a similar, if not worse situation, due to intense fighting in the area. It noted that the communities in the three regions are perilously vulnerable due to the cumulative impact of a decade of conflict, compounded by several seasons of low harvests and dwindling livestock as well as the degradation of infrastructure.