Somaliland: More than 5m People in Somalia Face Acute Food Security Crisis

Somalia NGO Consortium press statement

Somalilandsun-Somalia is currently experiencing a drought that has led to severe food insecurity for more than 38% of the population making the humanitarian situation in the country very fragile. Poor April- June rains coupled with poor October-December rainfall prospects have led to drought conditions in most parts of the country and subsequent worsening of food insecurity. Efforts to reduce levels of vulnerabilities continue to be undermined by irregular weather patterns. Vegetation conditions have worsened and drought conditions intensified and continue to affect pasture, water, livestock and crops.

•  5 million People in need of humanitarian assistance. 
•  323,250 Children under-5 acutely malnourished.  
•  1.1 million People cannot meet their daily food requirements today, while another 3.9 million Somalis require livelihood support to reduce the risk of sliding into crisis. 
•  Internally displaced populations (IDPs) remain extremely vulnerable and account for 58 per cent of the people in crisis and emergency. 
•  Critical malnutrition rates continue to be found in IDP sites as well. 

According to the FAO-managed Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit (FSNAU) and the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWSNET), more than 1.1 million people cannot meet their daily food requirements today, while another 3.9 million Somalis requiring livelihood support to reduce the risk of sliding into crisis.
In Puntland, -Severe drought is affecting approximately 150,000 people and has displaced an additional 12,000 people, according to an inter-agency assessment conducted in September 2016. Food prices have gone up and some have doubled which in retrospect places vulnerable populations in dire need. Pastoral households interviewed reported that they trek an average distance of 60 km to access water points for both human and livestock consumption.
In Somaliland The FSNAU and the Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWSNET) reported in September 2016 that 31 per cent of the population, or more than one million people, will be in need of humanitarian assistance in Somaliland until the end of 2016. Acute malnutrition has worsened and 248,000 people face acute food security crisis.
In Gedo region, locally significant poor Gu rains and poor Deyr rains in October coupled with conflict have affected nearly 76,000 people, including 3,000 who left their homes in search of water, according to the inter-agency assessment report conducted in September 2016. An estimated 89 per cent of the pastoralists have lost at least one animal with 77 per cent of animal deaths attributed to the drought.
Lower Juba, Based on a WASH assessment in Afmadow town, an estimated 90,000 people, consisting of 14,750 households, including 800 newly arrived IDP households, have limited access to water as a result of the drought. The town depends mostly on one borehole and 35 unprotected shallow wells, of which 30 have run dry because of a lack of rainfall.
All actors involved need to immediately react to the situation by responding to calls for aid from the humanitarian actors operating in Somalia to ensure that the communities in the affected regions are given lifesaving humanitarian assistance.
“As most of Somalia is facing a major crisis, we are given the opportunity to use the lessons of the great famine of 2011 and to fulfill our common responsibility. The earlier we act, the more likely we are to avoid the loss of human lives and massive displacement of population – and to protect resilience and development perspectives. So will we act now – or regret later?” Gianmaria Pinto – Building Resilience Communities in Somalia (BRCiS Consortium) – Chief of Party
There is dire need to urgently respond to this crisis in various regions of Somalia and Somaliland and all actors need to act now to avert any further food and livelihood crisis! **********
Ends

For more information, please contact:
•Somalia NGO Consortium: Abdurahman Sharif; director@somaliangoconsortium.org; +254705 180 259
•Mercy Corps; Daud Adan djiran@mercycorps.org 254721658459, +252619933355 •BRCiS Consortium; Perrine Piton; perrine.piton@nrc.no +254 710 44 28 61

Additional Resources 

This press release is supported and endorsed by the following 39 NGOs:
ACTED, ACTIONAID, AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT SOLUTIONS- ADESO, ADRA SOMALIA, AMERICAN REFUGEE COMMITTEE, BRCiS CONSORTIUM, CANDLELIGHT FOR ENVIRONMENT, CESVI, CISP, CONCERN WORLDWIDE, COOPERAZIONE INTERNAZIONALE, DANISH REFUGEE COUNCIL, ECO CARE, FERO, INTERNATIONAL AID SERVICES, INTERNATIONAL SOLIDARITY FOUNDATION,INTERNATIONAL MEDICAL CORPS, INTERSOS, ISLAMIC RELIEF WORLDWIDE, KAALO AID FOR DEVELOPMENT, MEDAIR, MERCY CORPS, MERCY USA FOR AID AND DEVELOPMENT, NOMADIC ASSISTANCE FOR PEACE AND DEVELOPMENT, NORWEGIAN CHURCH AID, NORWEGIAN REFUGEE COUNCIL, OXFAM, PHYSICIANS ACROSS CONTINENTS, RELIEF INTERNATIONAL, SECOURS ISLAMIC FRANCE, SOMALI RELIEF AND DEVELOPMENT ACTION, SWISSO KALMO, THE ONE EARTH FUTURE FOUNDATION, TROCAIRE, VSF SUISSE, WASDA, WORLD CONCERN, WORLD RELIEF GERMANY, WORLD VISION SOMALIA