Somalilandsun- Qatar Charity (QC) has started the distribution of dry food to more than 6,000 families affected by drought in Baidoa city of Somalia. Thousands of Somali families have been displaced from affected remote areas to nearby villages and towns, due to the drought, which has frequently occurred in the country over the last three years, because of the disruptions in the rainfall.
Director of Qatar Charity Office in Somalia, Abdel Nour Mirsal said the dry food has been distributed to 670 drought-hit families in Baidoa and nearby areas as the first phase of a relief aid project for drought-affected people in Somalia.
Qatar Charity noted that the emergency relief project included the distribution of dry food, safe drinking water through tanks, medical convoys, and the distribution of plastic blankets for families to protect them from the heat of the sun and the cold of the night.
QC said that the relief campaign will be implemented in the displaced people camps in the outskirts of Mogadishu and most affected regions from the far north to the far south.
The emergency relief projects include medical convoys providing primary medical services in Somalia, in order to reduce the spread of diseases and epidemics, in addition to a charity kitchen benefiting daily about 2,000 families in the cities of Mogadishu and Baidoa.
The humanitarian situation in Somalia may worsen this year due to drought, based on climate reports and forecasts, according to international humanitarian reports.
Earlier, the QC Office in Somalia rehabilitated many thousands of the floods and cyclones victims through its early recovery programs, which have contributed to restoring basic services and environment and social life, providing livelihoods and shelter, and reintegrating displaced populations.
Qatar Charity and UNHCR signed an agreement in October 2017 in Geneva to reintegrate Somali returnees, internally displaced people (IDPs) and receiving communities through the construction and rehabilitation of public infrastructure in the water, education, shelter, and sanitation sectors with a budget of over USD 9 million, which will approximately benefit 100,000 people.