Monday November 5, 2018
As of today, some 2.6 million people remain displaced in Somalia. Despite their dire needs, the Somalia Humanirian Response Plan remains over 50 per cent underfunded. Credit: OCHA/M.Kovac
An upsurge in insecurity and conflict has triggered a new wave of
displacement in the Lower Shabelle region of South West State. According
to UNHCR-led Protection and Return Monitoring Network (PRMN), more than
34,000 people have fled the area since the beginning of August, joining
thousands of others who fled earlier in 2018 or before due to conflict,
drought and floods, in which the majority are women and children.
As parties to the conflict continue to take control of smaller towns
and villages, the anxiety and unpredictable security situation continues
to force families to flee their homes in search of safety. The United
Nations and humanitarian partners have boosted the delivery of
assistance and the provision of services to the affected communities.
The Somalia Humanitarian Fund
has funded a project aimed to improve access to emergency shelter for
5,400 newly displaced people in Lower Shabelle, in an effort to improve
their living conditions and meet their basic necessities. However, the
needs remain dire. Humanitarian partners are particularly concerned
about an increase in protection issues, including restriction of
movement, arbitrary arrests, civilian casualties and the destruction of
properties and livelihood assets.
Tension reportedly remains high in villages along the
Afgooye-Qoryooley corridor with further displacement likely due to the
ongoing military activities in the area. The rise in displacement has
resulted in a significant increase in humanitarian needs within the
district, where some areas are hard-to-reach, and in Mogadishu, where
most of the displaced have fled to.
Information on the extent of the humanitarian impact in the areas of
origin remains limited due to insecurity, limited humanitarian presence
and access to some areas. The displaced populations live in dire
conditions with limited access to basic services and livelihood
opportunities.
Overall, some 2.6 million people remain displaced in Somalia. Despite
the increasing needs, the Somalia Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP)
remains critically underfunded. While humanitarian partners continue to
provide life-saving assistance, the 51 per cent funding shortfall is
hampering the sustainability and effectiveness of delivery of vital
services and the restoration of facilities destroyed by natural
disasters or ongoing conflict. The HRP has so far received $751.4
million.