Crisis in Somalia Leaves Millions in Need of Humanitarian Assistance

By Jared Kleinman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Africa

MOGADISHU, Somalia - A widespread humanitarian crisis persists in war-torn Somalia, with an estimated 3.2 million people, approximately 42 percent of the population, in need of emergency aid or livelihood support.

Sporadic outbursts of violence have caused hundreds of thousands of people to leave their homes and seek shelter in other parts of the country or flee to neighboring or nearby states, including Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

Internally displaced persons (IDPs) continue to be the largest single group in crisis, representing 44 percent of the 3.2 million, and with the ongoing conflict this is likely to increase even further.

According to the latest statistics, an estimated 29,000 people were displaced in January in Dhusamareebb in the Galgaduud region, while over 25,000 fled their homes to escape renewed clashes in Beled Weyne in the Hiraan region. Additionally, some 18,000 displaced people were forced out of the capital, Mogadishu. "The recent wave of displacement has exacerbated the humanitarian crisis that was already worse," the UNHCR said.

Fearful of returning to their homes, many are reported to be sleeping in the open with dwindling shelter and little water. There are also growing concerns about the health conditions of particularly vulnerable groups, such as children, women and the elderly.

The crisis has left one in six children acutely malnourished and requiring specialist care, according to a United Nations update released Thursday. Of these children, one in 22 is severely malnourished and at a nine-fold increased risk of death compared to well-nourished children, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported.

In south and central Somalia, which has been plagued by factional fighting and has not had a functioning central government since 1991, the rates are higher with one in five children acutely malnourished, of which one in 20 is acutely malnourished. These national rates of acute malnutrition continue to be amongst the highest in the world.

In the north, a drought following four seasons of below-average rainfall has left 290,000 pastoral and agro-pastoral people in need of both life-saving and livelihood support to recover.

Currently, the rates translate into an estimated 240,000 children under five years of age being acutely malnourished, of which 63,000 are severely malnourished. More than two thirds of these children are located in south and central Somalia, the area's most affected by the current conflict.

“So far, the deteriorating security conditions have made it hard, if not impossible, for humanitarian workers to access the needy population.” the UNHCR said.

“Long-term integrated responses combining nutritional rehabilitation with promotion of optimal infant and young child feeding practices and increasing access to safe water and health services are the only way to address the crisis,” the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said.

The UN agency said it planned to distribute emergency relief items and shelter materials to over 18,000 people in 27 locations, where the displaced are temporarily settled as soon as the security situation will permit.

For more information, please see:

UN News Service - Humanitarian Crisis Persists in Somalia with Malnutrition Rampant in Young, UN Warns - 5 February 2010

Afrique En Linge  - UNCHR Says 80,000 Displaced in Somali Conflicts - ‎4 February 2010‎

Middle East Online - Worsening Humanitarian Crisis in Somalia – 4 February 2010