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USAID Information:
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Somalia – Complex Emergency
July 16, 2008
Situation Report #7, Fiscal Year (FY) 2008 (PDF, 50kb)
Map (PDF, 281kb)
Background
Since 1991, widespread violence, endemic poverty, and recurrent droughts and floods have generated a complex
emergency in Somalia. Continued civil strife and inter-clan conflicts have complicated the humanitarian situation and
limited access to affected areas. In addition, ongoing fighting since late December 2006 between the Somalia
Transitional Federal Government (TFG), Ethiopian forces, and armed militias opposed to the TFG has led to a further
deterioration in humanitarian conditions. As a result, approximately 476,000 Somali refugees have fled the country,
and more than 1.1 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) are uprooted within Somalia, including long-term IDPs as
well as individuals displaced by increased fighting since February 2007.
In May 2008, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Food Security Analysis Unit for Somalia (FSAU)
reported that 2.6 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance, an increase from approximately 1 million people
as of January 2007. The combined effects of consecutive seasons of failed or poor rainfall, continuing conflict, rising
inflation, massive displacement, and diarrheal disease outbreaks have severely exacerbated the food security situation
and resulted in a significant increase in acute malnutrition rates, according to the 2008 U.N. Consolidated Appeal for
Somalia. U.N. and partner agencies are coordinating efforts to improve access, but insecurity and targeted attacks
against relief staff hinder the provision of emergency assistance to affected populations.
On October 3, 2007, U.S. Ambassador to Kenya Michael E. Ranneberger redeclared a disaster due to the ongoing
complex emergency in Somalia. To date in FY 2008, the U.S. Government (USG) has provided nearly $234 million for
emergency food assistance, health, nutrition, agriculture and food security, livelihoods support, humanitarian
coordination, protection, and water, sanitation, and hygiene programs, as well as peace-building activities, refugee
assistance, and air operations.
NUMBERS AT A GLANCE
| Total Population in Need of Emergency Assistance |
2.6 million |
FSAU – May 2008 |
| Urban Caseload |
580,000 |
FSAU – May 2008 |
| IDPs since February 2007 |
855,000 |
FSAU – May 2008 |
| Long-Term IDPs |
275,000 |
FSAU – May 2008 |
| Rural Caseload |
920,000 |
FSAU – May 2008 |
| Somali Refugees in Djibouti, Kenya, Ethiopia, and Yemen |
334,000 |
UNHCR(1) Global Trends Report – June 2008 |
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FY 2008 HUMANITARIAN FUNDING
| USAID/OFDA Humanitarian Assistance to Somalia: |
$26,915,799 |
| USAID/FFP (2) Humanitarian Assistance to Somalia: |
$197,783,000 |
| State/PRM (3) Humanitarian Assistance to Somalia: |
$9,100,000 |
| Total USAID and State Humanitarian Assistance to Somalia: |
$233,798,799 |
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Current Situation
Rising food prices, below-normal April to June gu
rainfall, market disruptions, protracted conflict, and
reduced humanitarian access resulting from an upsurge
in targeted attacks against international and national
humanitarian staff continue to exacerbate chronic
emergency levels of malnutrition and food insecurity in
Somalia. According to the U.N. Office for the
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), more
than 2.6 million people currently require humanitarian
assistance, an increase of 40 percent since January
2008. In addition, U.N. agencies and relief
organizations are planning for a worst-case scenario in
which half of the total population, or up to 3.5 million
Somalis, may require livelihood support or emergency
assistance by the end of 2008.
The U.N. World Food Program (WFP) and CARE
report possible pipeline breaks in emergency food
rations in the coming months due to commodity
shortfalls. As of July 15, WFP cites a shortfall of
62,000 metric tons (MT) of emergency food assistance
valued at approximately $55 million to meet projected
food needs from July through December.
USAID/OFDA has augmented staff at the East and
Central Africa Regional Office to address evolving
needs related to the regional drought and food security
crisis impacting Somalia. USAID/OFDA staff are
monitoring conditions, identifying priority needs, and
facilitating coordination and information sharing
among international relief organizations.
Security and Population Movements
Significant deterioration in security conditions in
recent weeks in Somalia, characterized by increased
attacks against civilians, humanitarian staff, and civil
society groups, is resulting in new displacement and
hindering relief efforts and in some cases halting
critical humanitarian assistance.
During the month of June, UNHCR reported that
13,000 people were displaced, including 7,600 persons
displaced due to insecurity in Mogadishu, bringing the
total number of IDPs in the country to 1.1 million.
As of July 16, the U.N. reported that 20 aid workers
have been killed in 2008, while another 13 aid workers
remain held hostage in Somalia. Following the June 16
abduction of a USAID implementing partner CARE
staff member, CARE suspended operations in
Galgadud Region targeting an estimated 250,000
beneficiaries. To date in 2008, the U.N. reports 25
carjackings and/or attempted carjackings, in addition to
82 incidents related to the looting of food aid
distribution sites, warehouses, and convoys.
Nutrition
On July 4, FSAU released the results from 11 nutrition
surveys conducted in Gedo, Bakool, Lower Shabelle,
Middle Shabelle, Galgadud, and Mudug regions in
May and June. Results indicate sustained critical levels
of acute malnutrition in most areas and escalating
global acute malnutrition (GAM) rates above 20
percent in parts of the country, including Gedo and
Bakool regions and among IDP populations. The most
significant deterioration in nutrition conditions
occurred in Bakool Region, where the May 2008
assessment identified GAM rates of 24.1 percent and
severe acute malnutrition (SAM) rates of 3.2 percent,
in comparison to 14.3 percent GAM and 3.4 percent
SAM recorded in November 2007.
In addition, humanitarian organizations report
significant increases in the number of admissions to
therapeutic feeding centers. On June 26, Médecins
sans Frontières reported that admissions to nutritional
feeding programs near Mogadishu doubled in April and
again in May. The relief organization is treating
approximately 2,500 acutely malnourished children
near Afgooye outside Mogadishu, where an estimated
255,000 internally displaced persons are settled.
According to FSAU, a variety of factors are causing
the poor nutrition situation, including conflict, drought,
high incidence of diarrhea, poor breast-feeding,
weaning and child-feeding practices, rising food prices,
and insufficient access to clean water, adequate health
care, and sanitation facilities.
USAID/OFDA has provided more than $2.4 million for
nutrition activities in Somalia, including an additional
$2 million to the U.N. Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to
support a blanket feeding program in Lower and
Middle Shabelle regions and Bossaso town in Puntland
targeting displaced children under five years of age to
prevent malnutrition. In addition, new funding is
supporting UNICEF activities to augment current
therapeutic and supplementary feeding programs and
integrate nutrition, health, and water, sanitation, and
hygiene interventions.
Emergency Food Assistance
On June 25, WFP released an operational update citing
the need for monthly contributions of nearly $40
million in order to increase the targeted caseload from
1.4 million beneficiaries in May to 2.4 million
individuals by December. The expanded caseload
includes approximately 600,000 urban residents
countrywide, who are particularly vulnerable to rising
food prices due to a dependency on the market for the
purchase of the majority of staple food needs.
Multiple factors, including funding gaps and delays,
continued insecurity, increased attacks on NGO staff,
and reduced regional food availability have resulted in
disruptions to planned distributions. WFP reported that
only 23 percent of planned food distributions reached
targeted beneficiaries in May, compared with 87
percent in April. In addition, WFP reported that only
14,000 out of 21,000 planned metric tons of June food
assistance was expected to be delivered as of July 1.
As of July 16, WFP continues to appeal to the
international community for additional naval escorts
for ships carrying emergency food commodities to
Somalia to replace Dutch naval escorts that ended on
June 25. Approximately 80 percent of WFP food
assistance to Somalia is transported by sea. WFP plans
to ship an estimated 220,000 MT of food assistance
between June and December 2008 are at continued risk
in the absence of a secured naval escort.
In recent weeks, USAID/FFP has approved an
additional 50,000 MT of food assistance to WFP,
valued at approximately $50 million, and 45,000 MT
of food assistance to implementing partner CARE,
valued at approximately $38 million, for July to
December distributions. To date in FY 2008,
USAID/FFP has provided more than 211,320 MT of
food assistance, valued at nearly $198 million.
Agriculture and Food Security
According to the USAID-supported Famine Early
Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET), the poor
performance of the April to June gu rains has resulted
in poor crop production across central and southern
Somalia, including Hiran, Lower Juba, Middle Juba,
Lower Shabelle, Middle Shabelle, Bay, Bakool, and
Gedo regions, increasing food security concerns.
Prices of locally produced cereals have increased up to
455 percent over the last 15 months and rice prices
have increased by up to 360 percent, according to
UNHCR. In addition, FSAU reported that results of a
March to April rapid urban food security and nutrition
assessment in 27 towns throughout Somalia indicate
that food and non-food costs have increased between
55 and 130 percent throughout areas of northern,
southern, and central Somalia, excluding areas utilizing
the Somali shilling. Elevated prices are negatively
affecting the purchasing power of Somali’s and
exacerbating food insecurity.
Since mid-June, USAID/OFDA has provided $853,000
for agriculture and food security activities in Bay,
Bakool, and Middle Juba regions, benefiting an
estimated 13,450 people.
For detailed information on U.S. Government humanitarian assistance to Somalia, please see Somalia Complex Emergency - Situation Report #7 (pdf, 49kb)
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