Somalia: Growing Humanitarian Crisis - Somalia Humanitarian Emergency (Press Conference)

Press Conference by Adam Abdelmoula, Somalia Humanitarian Emergency

UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia Adam Abdelmoula said the “cost of inaction” in the country is “too high,” adding that the humanitarian crisis there has escalated in recent years “due to repeated climate shocks, protected conflict, insecurity, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the worst desert locust infestation in a generation.”

Speaking to reporters in New York today (07 Jul) via teleconference, Abdelmoula said Somalia is home to one of the world’s most complex humanitarian crises, with nearly half the population requiring lifesaving or protection assistance. He said 2.8 million people are projected to face high levels of food insecurity and hunger by the end of the year.

The Humanitarian Coordinator said, “It is clear that Somalia is now on the frontlines of climate change. The frequency of climate related disasters has increased rapidly. Since 1990, Somalia has experience more than 30 climate related hazards, including 17 droughts and 19 floods, triple the number experienced between 1970 and 1990.“

Abdelmoula stressed that the combined impact of drought and floods is likely to aggravation the already critical food security situation in Somalia. He added that decades of conflict have contributed to high levels of vulnerability across the country. This year more than 523,000 people were forced from their homes, including 347,000 displaced due to conflict. He also noted that half of the 2.9 million internally displaced persons in the country are women and girls.

Abdelmoula said, “When displaced, women and girls face increased risk of sexual violence, exploitation, and abuse. Many of these that are displaced live in temporary sites at the mercy of landowners who constantly harass them and sometimes forcibly evict them.”

The UN Resident Coordinator said the desert locust infestation is continuing due to favourable conditions created by the April rains. He added that conflict and insecurity were also affecting humanitarian operations, including ability to reach people in need of assistance and protection.

He said, despite ongoing advocacy for the safety and security of aid workers, the operating environment remains difficult and dangerous. In 2020, 15 aid workers were killed, 12 were injured, 24 abducted, and 14 temporarily detained, representing a significant increase compared to 2019.

Despite all these challenges, Abdelmoula said a sustained humanitarian response has prevented further deterioration of suffering and achieved measurable progress. At least 1.4 million people are receiving humanitarian assistance every month, he said, adding that the UN was now looking to start long-term interventions to address the root causes of recurrent crises in Somalia and strengthen the country’s resilience.

The UN Resident Coordinator said funding for Somalia’s humanitarian response this year is the worst in six years. The 2020 humanitarian response plan, amounting to 1.49 billion USD, is only 25 percent funded.

He said humanitarian partners are barely able to meet the most basic needs of communities and stressed that 5.9 million children, women and men are at risk of losing access to some or all of the lifesaving assistance that they need.

Abdelmoula said, “We are reaching out to our donors to ask for more. More Somalis will suffer if we cannot immediately scale up our activities, and hard-won progress that we have recently achieved in humanitarian responses will be lost. While we seek long-term solutions to Somalia’s protracted crisis, millions of Somalis are desperate for immediate assistance and cannot wait. We are in a race against time.”

[henokmicael]

When humanitarian crisis is raised it is an eye brow. Why only humanitarian crisis and aid in Africa? Is it a corruption or political instability or modern colonization? We need to ask ourself.

[stephenbachman]

You know what would help Somali if Rich country's don't dump toxic waste there. An the removal of pirates.

[kareemkalisari]

Thank You│UN✶ ⃝🇺🇳🇺🇳
الاُمَـــــمُ المـتّـحــــــــدَة │🇺🇳🇺🇳 ⃝🇺 🇳🌈

[habibullahhassanzada]

Please, please, please, save the forgotten immigrants in Indonesia

[luispadrao]

Parabéns pelo trabalho quando fazemos aniversário tem mais alegrias e vitórias para comemorar ou ficamos triste por não resolver os problemas amém

[luispadrao]

Parabéns pelo trabalho a pobreza de um país não deve ser menosprezada pelos países ricos ou seja mostrar uma forma sustentável de governar respeitando sua cultura e valores do país e do povo amém

[luispadrao]

Parabéns pelo trabalho com tantos idiomas e dialetos se torna difícil uma unanimidade nas decisões ou seja agregar valor pois cada país tem princípios próprios e cultura diferentes amém e tem que respeitar amém

[luispadrao]

Parabéns pelo trabalho a fome miséria está presente deste o nascimento e não larga de nós a vida toda como resolver ou não tem solução amém