Thursday, December 06, 2012
The United Nations on Tuesday launched its three-year humanitarian appeal for Somalia, making it the first humanitarian gathering to ever take place in the anarchic nation in two decades.
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) the appeal for 2013 is $1.3 billion for 369 humanitarian projects targeting 3.8 million Somalis in need.
Elsewhere, in its latest report, the Famine Early Warning System Network said over 2 million people still remain food insecure either at the stressed or crises levels in Somalia.
The new Somali government however appeals for immediate funds from donors to avoid a repeat of last year’s devastating famine.
The UN Humanitarian officials in Mogadishu also appealed for a comprehensive peace process that will see Somalis return to cultivate their farms to improve food production and counter the possibility of food scarcity.
It also added that an increase of conflict above levels initially anticipated could have detrimental effects on food security by reducing trade, labor and livestock migration, and humanitarian access.
These sentiments were echoed by Somalia's Interior and National Security Ministry that also called for the urgent need for relocating the thousands of displaced persons scattered across Mogadishu.
According to the UN, the 2013-2015 humanitarian strategy targets immediate humanitarian needs of the Somali people and aims to enhance resilience and ultimately address the protracted nature of the humanitarian crisis in Somalia.
“With 3.8 million people in need of assistance, the humanitarian crisis in Somalia is one of the largest in the world. More than 1.1 million people are internally displaced and over 1 million Somalis live outside the country as refugees”.