Somalia: UN expert warns health care standards “dangerously low” (05.04.2022)

The UN expert called on the international community to ensure access to basic social services including drinking water, sanitation facilities, housing, health care education for all children, in particular girls.

MOGADISHU, Somalia, April 5, 2022 – The UN Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Somalia has urged the central government to improve health care services, end child marriage and ensure protection of journalists.

At the end of a six-day visit to the country, Isha Dyfan acknowledged the steps taken by the authorities and humanitarian partners to implement an Emergency Response and Preparedness Plan and provide food, water and other essential items to support IDP populations in Baidoa and other areas of the country.

The UN expert called on the international community to ensure access to basic social services including drinking water, sanitation facilities, housing, health care education for all children, in particular girls. She also urged the Government to expand the delivery of public health services, in light of the lessons learnt from the COVID-19 pandemic, and increase funding for its health system.

“Access to health care remains dangerously low in the country,” Dyfan told journalists in Mogadishu at the end of her visit on 2 April.

“There is only one government hospital in the capital, Mogadishu, and people often have to seek health care services at a private health facility and pay out of their own pocket very high amounts for their own treatment. Only a few people can afford these services, thereby leading to high child and maternal mortality.”

She also called on the authorities to end forced and child marriages.

Dyfan said she was concerned by arbitrary arrest and detention of journalists by security personnel across the country and reiterated the importance of respecting the right to freedom of expression and opinion.

The UN expert met State officials, representatives of humanitarian organisations and civil society, the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) and UN agencies, funds and programmes.

United Nations: As impact of drought worsens, growing risk of famine in Somalia (28.03.2022)

The situation has deteriorated, with the current drought wiping out crop harvests and livestock dying due to a lack of water and pasture, depriving many pastoral communities of their only source of income.

LUUQ, Somalia, March 28, 2022 – Standing in front of his makeshift home in a camp for internally displaced people (IDP) in southern Somalia’s Luuq district, Ahmad Hassan Yarrow looks out towards what remains of the Juba River and shakes his head forlornly.

Of all the droughts I have experienced in my 70 years, I have not seen anything as severe as this,” he says as he contemplates the scenery before him.

Mr. Yarrow is one of hundreds of thousands of Somalis displaced by the country’s most recent and worsening drought, leaving their homes in the search for food, water and shelter.

The Luuq district, located in the Federal Member State of Jubaland’s Gedo region, is intersected by the Juba River. For more than three months now, the river’s waters have steadily dwindled, leaving only brown puddles.

As the water evaporated, so did the hopes of local communities – made up mainly of farmers and pastoralists – which rely on the river for their livelihoods. Under a searing sun, their crops wilted and their livestock died, and, like many other Somalis around the country, the communities came a step closer to starvation.

We lost everything in the drought,” says Salado Madeer Mursaal, a 28-year-old mother of one, who has also sought help at the IDP camp. “We need food, shelter, water and other basic human needs.”

Risk of famine’

With decades of conflict, recurrent climate shocks and disease outbreaks, including the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the humanitarian situation in Somalia was already grave. Even before the current drought, an estimated 7.7 million Somalis were in need of humanitarian assistance and protection this year – up 30 per cent from one year.

The situation has deteriorated, with the current drought wiping out crop harvests and livestock dying due to a lack of water and pasture, depriving many pastoral communities of their only source of income.

The country has seen three consecutive failed rainy seasons. The fourth, which is supposed to start in April and continue through June, is also projected to be below average. If that happens, then we are looking at a risk of famine,” says the Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, Adam Abdelmoula.

The United Nations and its implementing partners have been heavily engaged in providing humanitarian support. In February, they collectively reached 1.6 million people with assistance, but, with Somalia’s federal authorities, they are calling for more funds to provide urgent humanitarian assistance.

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Somalia is currently one of the most severely drought-impacted country in the Horn of Africa. Some 4.5 million Somalis are directly affected by the drought, and about 700,000 people have been displaced.

Children are in an especially vulnerable position.

“As we speak now, 1.4 million children under five years of age are severely malnourished, and if we don’t step up our intervention, it is projected that 330,000 of them will be on the brink of death from severe acute malnutrition. The situation cannot be more dire than that,” says Mr. Abdelmoula, who also serves as the UN Secretary-General’s Deputy Special Representative for Somalia and the UN Resident Coordinator.

So I call on all those who are able to contribute, including the Somali diaspora, the business community, the traditional and non-traditional donors, everyone, to act and to act now,” he adds.

In the 2022 Somalia Humanitarian Response Plan, the United Nations seeks nearly $1.5 billion to provide humanitarian assistance to 5.5 million of the country’s most vulnerable people, including 1.6 million IDPs, 3.9 million non-IDPs, and people with disabilities.

However, just about four per cent – $56.1 million – has been received so far.

Seeking safety and shelter

In Luuq’s camps, there is a palpable mix of relief and resignation among the displaced.

After walking for several days, Fatuma Madeer Mursaal and her family arrived at the Boyle IDP camp in Luuq. There, they joined the more than 4,000 people seeking aid.

We are farmers and we also had our livestock but all animals died in the drought. We have nothing left and we have come here for water, food, shelter and help,” says Ms. Mursaal, a 39-year-old mother of six.

The Boyle IDP camp is one of several camps which have sprung up around the country as desperate people move to locations where they hope they can access help.

It’s serious, and one of the biggest tragedies Somalia is facing today. The displaced communities have no shelter, water, medicine, or even food, and they depend on handouts. The drought has wiped out everything, and if the survivors don’t get urgent humanitarian assistance, they are likely to also die,” says the Luuq district’s local administrator, Commissioner Ali Kadiye Mohamed.

UN humanitarian agencies are working closely with implementing partners on the ground to alleviate the situation.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has been trucking water into camps such as the Boyle IDP camp, as well as constructing water tanks and pit latrines to help improve sanitation conditions.

At the Luuq District Hospital, funded in part by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the UN agency is working with an Irish charity agency, Trocaire, to treat, feed and stabilize children admitted with severe malnutrition. Local staff say they have seen a worsening of the situation.

In January, 62 malnourished children were admitted here. In February, the number rose to 100, and as of 21 March, the number stands at 114,” said the hospital’s chief nurse, Abdirahman Mohamed Kasim.

As soon as these children get to the hospital,” he continues, “we give them milk for primary and secondary stages of malnutrition, and, after their recovery, we transfer them to other feeding centres where they receive high energy biscuits and treatments for any further illnesses.”

Elsewhere in Luuq, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) is implementing cash and food voucher programmes for vulnerable groups, and providing preventative and curative nutrition support to women and children. The agency is scaling up its interventions, aiming to support 2.5 million people across Somalia with food and nutrition relief in the first half of this year, but – like so many other UN agencies – it can only do so if it receives more funding; in this instance, some $203 million to close a funding gap.

Somalia: Civil Society Election Situation Room (ESR) – Civil Society raises concerns over attack on electoral stakeholders and calls for a peaceful and timely conclusion to the lower house election process (27.03.2022)

Somalia: International humanitarian donors – Humanitarian donors visit drought stricken regions of Somalia (16.03.2022)

Somalia: UNHCR ramps up aid to thousands displaced by Somalia drought (11.03.2022)

This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Boris Cheshirkov – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at today’s press briefing at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.

GENEVA, Switzerland, March 11, 2022 – UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is scaling up assistance to thousands of people displaced by severe drought in Somalia following three consecutive failed rainy seasons that have decimated crops and livestock.

People’s coping mechanisms have been eroded, forcing thousands to flee their homes in search of humanitarian assistance including food, shelter, and safe drinking water.

In the first week of March alone, more than 17,000 people in the country’s southern Bay region were internally displaced by the drought, joining tens of thousands of people similarly displaced across the country between January and February this year.

If the current trend holds, UNHCR estimates that in 2022 alone half a million Somalis will likely be displaced before the end of March.

The majority are reported to be children, older people, and pregnant and lactating mothers. Families are arriving to urban centres or existing settlements for internally displaced people, where living conditions are often difficult and there are few resources to cover the additional needs of the new arrivals.

Many children have dropped out of school to help their families earn a daily income and search for water and pasture. This has made them particularly vulnerable to risks such as forced marriage, family separation, and sexual violence and abuse. Women and girls, who make up half of the displaced population, are at heightened risk.

UNHCR is working closely with humanitarian partners to deliver much-needed assistance. So far, shelter materials, hygiene items, and other necessities have been delivered to 36,000 drought-affected people in the country, including 24,000 people in Galmudug and Puntland regions where the situation is most dire. Separated and unaccompanied children are being provided with medical assistance, psychosocial support, and counselling as well as safe spaces to protect them against forced child recruitment.

Families at risk of being evicted from their homes due to loss of income are also receiving legal assistance. In the coming weeks, at least 200 entrepreneurs will receive grants to help revive their businesses.

Globally, the climate crisis is accelerating, and the consequences of inaction are mounting. Many ecosystems are at a tipping point, and we are already seeing devastating effects on human health and life. Vulnerable communities are being hit the hardest, among them refugees, displaced, and stateless people. Over 80 per cent of refugees and internally displaced people come from the most climate vulnerable countries worldwide.

A report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change last week highlighted the uneven impacts of the climate crisis on communities that have less capacity to adapt. Vulnerabilities are being amplified where people are already facing poverty, limited access to basic services and resources, conflict, and climate-dependent livelihoods.

Urgent investments are needed to build up strong adaptive capacities where they are most needed. Without them, we will witness greater suffering, loss of life, and increasing displacement.

In 2022, UNHCR requires US$157.5 million to deliver critical aid and protection to approximately 2.9 million internally displaced people in Somalia, 40,000 refugee returnees, some 31,000 refugees and asylum seekers, and up to 15,000 new arrivals from Ethiopia and other countries. As of 1 March 2022, only 5 per cent of that amount had been received.

Somalia: Anticipatory action and timely response help avert major outbreaks and protect the most vulnerable from health effects of drought (10.03.2022)

The anticipatory action project has also supported scaling up of essential health care services, including treatment of severely malnourished children in nutrition stabilization centres across the states covered.

GENEVA, Switzerland, March 10, 2022 – Somalia has witnessed intermittent drought over the last 3 decades. Each drought, and natural catastrophe, has brought with it a string of health consequences, magnified even further in a country with fragile and vulnerable health system.

CERF support delivering anticipatory action

To respond to an impending drought situation in Somalia during May to November in 2021, WHO provided timely support to the Ministry of Health and Human Services, with funding support from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF). Part of the support focused on the prevention and mitigation of the health consequences of drought through anticipatory action, while the other focused on delivering an urgent, swift response through the deployment of rapid response teams in affected districts.

Highlighting the progress made Dr Mamunur Rahman Malik, WHO Representative to Somalia and Head of Mission, said, “Our support prevented a major catastrophe when the country has still been reeling from the COVID-19 pandemic and its health system was yet to fully recover.” By considering Somalia’s previous experiences with drought, we were able to predict scenarios, prepare for, and respond to, difficult situations to save lives, and all the while offer essential primary health care services throughout the same efforts.”

Preventing and mitigating public health risks by anticipating effects of emergencies

In 2021, through the CERF anticipatory action project, WHO supported the ministries of health in Somaliland, Galmudug, Hirshabelle, Jubaland and Puntland to prevent and mitigate the public health risks of drought. In 11 high-risk districts earmarked by Somalia’s Health Cluster, WHO took measures to prevent the spread of diseases, reaching 163 266 people directly, 69 635 of whom were internally displaced people (IDPs) and 81 021 were women.

The project also enabled WHO to deploy health care workers, and rapid response teams, with a view to preventing disease spread and mitigating the health effects of drought at community levels. As a result, over 1100 outbreak alerts were detected and investigated in a timely manner. By enhancing surveillance for diseases, detecting, investigating and responding to alerts early, the country was able to avert larger outbreaks of diseases from cholera, measles and other epidemic disease, save lives and reduce the health consequences of drought.

The anticipatory action project has also supported scaling up of essential health care services, including treatment of severely malnourished children in nutrition stabilization centres across the states covered.

Through this support, WHO distributed medical supplies for treatment of severe acute malnutrition, cholera, malaria and pneumonia, thereby reaching 244 250 people, who had limited access to health services, with community outreach services.

Delivering a rapid response to public health challenges

As part of the second CERF-funded rapid response project, in 2021, in collaboration with state ministries of health, WHO deployed rapid response teams and community health workers to provide an urgent, essential health response for IDPs and host communities in 9 drought-affected districts in Somaliland, Jubaland and Puntland. Through this support, WHO directly reached 123 181 Somalis, 61 573 of whom were female.

Through this project, WHO deployed 324 community health workers who visited every household in drought-affected district to, report alerts to the rapid response teams for field investigation. These community health workers reported a total 2527 epidemic alerts, including for suspected measles, cholera, malaria and respiratory tract infections. The rapid response teams that were trained and deployed in 39 districts through this project investigated 1686 of these alerts triggered from the community health workers. These interventions prevented major outbreaks in drought-affected areas. In addition, WHO’s work helped to provide essential health care to over 491 206 beneficiaries.

Communities’ needs drive project activities

In places like riverine villages where Dahawo Muse Yusuf and her family live, these interventions support Somalis to be prepared for, and respond to, public health challenges.

Sitting upright on a bed at the Jowhar Regional Hospital, Dahawo explained how her village, Raqayle Umar Gudley, is affected every time the Shabelle River swells with floods, or runs dry through a drought. This is yet another time when Dahawo and her community have not been able to harvest crops since the last deyr rains failed, she adds grimly. “We have no access to safe water and dig into the river bed to look for water sometimes,” said 20-year-old Dahawo. “I know of many people like me, from my village, who are suffering from diarrhoea due to drinking unsafe water. Once, an NGO – I can’t remember their name – gave us chlorine to clean water but that was just once.” When asked if she knew how to clean water, Dahawo chuckles and says they have not been able to discuss this issue at home, but that she would ask her husband, who is educated, to discuss with the community how to clean water to prevent diseases.

“People like Dahawo are suffering from diseases that can be prevented,” said Dr Mohamed Farah, the head clinician at the Jowhar Regional Hospital. “Many people also suffer from communicable diseases such as pneumonia, and acute watery diarrhoea, and several children are suffering from measles and severe acute malnutrition as the result of the drought. We are receiving patients from as far as Hiran and Jalaqsi. The situation is getting worse every day.”

Learning skills to prevent the spread of diseases The two CERF-funded projects reached health care workers with different skill sets. In Belet Weyne, Nimca Kalil Mohamud, a nurse working at the Eljalle Health Centre offers women support to breastfeed their babies properly, and gives advice on family planning and nutrition.

She explained that she learnt a lot about the prevention of COVID-19 and the integrated management of childhood illnesses at a capacity-building session offered by WHO and the Government through CERF in 2021.

In addition to advancing skills and knowledge, such training also motivates health workers like her to do her job better, Nimca added.

Offering primary health care services to support affected communities

In continuing to ensure humanitarian aid reaches people affected by public health crises, WHO is supporting the Ministry of Health in Somalia in 2022 to ensure a rapid response intervention to mitigate the public health risks in some of the severest drought-affected districts of Galmudug and South West State.

Under these rapid response interventions supported by CERF, the project aims to increase communities’ access to primary health care services through fixed and outreach services, including the timely detection of and swift response to alerts of epidemic-prone diseases, as well as support risk communication, community engagement and health promotion activities. These efforts will continue to protect vulnerable populations from the adverse effects of drought.

Somalia: Statement by the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, Mr. Adam Abdelmoula, on the situation in Diinsoor District, South West State (03.03.2022)

Somalia: Somalia Humanitarian Fund allocates US$25 million for early response to drought (24.02.2022)

Somalia: Juba Land State of Somalia – Office of Garbaharrey District Commisioner – Press Release (18.02.2022)

Somalia: Elections must be finalized amid worsening drought, Security Council hears (16.02.2022)

James Swan, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative, briefed ambassadors on recent political developments.

NEW YORK, United States of America, February 16, 2022 – Somalia’s leaders must put aside their differences and urgently conclude a credible election process, the UN’s senior official in the country told the Security Council on Tuesday, noting that national elections are now more than a year behind schedule and women’s representation remains significantly off-track.

James Swan, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative and Head of the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM), briefed ambassadors on recent political developments – including the conclusion of Upper House of Parliament elections, and the ongoing House of the People election – as well as increasing attacks by the Al-Shabaab militant group and a deepening humanitarian crisis triggered by one of the region’s worst droughts in decades.

Critical election

The Special Representative said that, since his last briefing in November 2021, election plans – first agreed earlier that year – have progressed considerably.

“While this is a welcome development, this pace needs to be further accelerated,” he said, noting that only 130 of 275 seats of the House of the People have been filled to date.

Pointing out that 23 of those seats have so far gone to women, about 22 per cent of the total, he said that number fell well short of the 30 per cent agreed women’s quota for the country’s political leaders, and urged all actors to redouble their efforts to meet that target.

While political tensions among some Somali leaders continue to flare up sporadically – largely the result of “posturing and brinkmanship” – he reported that they have so far been quickly contained.

“Yet, a real risk remains that a miscalculation could lead these tensions to spill over into conflict,” he warned.

Militant attacks 

In the security arena, the Al-Shabaab militant group continues to pose a major security threat to Somalia, with Banadir region and South West states, serving as its centre of operations.

Recent months have also seen an increase in the use of improvised explosive devices and rising numbers of attacks in the capital, Mogadishu, with civilian casualties.

Noting that the future configuration of the African Union Mission in Somalia, known as AMISOM, is currently under review, Mr. Swan said the UN is engaged in discussions with the Federal Government of Somalia, the African Union and key donors, on various technical aspects of its future mandate and configuration.

Progress has also been registered in implementing the Somali Transition Plan, which is key both for the Mission’s reconfiguration and for determining how quickly it will transfer responsibilities to the Somali security forces.

‘Extremely dire’ humanitarian outlook

Meanwhile, Somalia and the wider Horn of Africa region is facing one of the most severe droughts in decades.

Mr. Swan warned the Council that some 7.7 million Somalis require humanitarian assistance this year, with 4.3 million impacted by drought and more than 270,000 displaced.

According to the recently released Somalia Food Security and Nutrition Assessment, published by the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), more than 1.4 million children in Somalia – nearly half of the country’s under-five population – are likely to suffer from acute malnutrition due to the ongoing drought.

A critical shortage of water has forced families to migrate to urban and peri-urban centres, adding to the 2.9 million people who were already displaced by conflict and climate change.  Since November 2021, water prices in some of the worst-affected areas have risen by as much as 72 per cent.

Warning the Council that the UN Humanitarian Response Plan for Somalia currently stands at only 2 per cent funded, the Special Representative reiterated his call on donors to increase their support.