NAIROBI 26 Aug 2011 - Tens of thousands of Somalis are fleeing famine and conflict in southern Somalia to areas of central Somalia that are also suffering severe shortages of food, water and pasture—straining scarce resources and creating tension in drought-affected communities.
The United Nations estimates that 233,000 displaced people from the south are now in the Mudug and Galgaduud regions of central Somalia, where the IRC provides humanitarian aid. There, scant rains and drought conditions have persisted for over a year, leading to the decimation of pastures, loss of livestock, crop failure and unaffordable prices for limited food stocks. Malnutrition rates are soaring.
Since mid-July, the town of Goldogob in Mudug has been overridden by 3,600 new arrivals from southern Somalia. Some have been able to integrate into the community, but the majority have erected makeshift shelters in the center of town or are living out in the open and are in desperate need of assistance.
“This area is already facing a critical food, pasture and water crisis and has no capacity to absorb new arrivals from the south,” says the IRC’s country director in Somalia, Prafulla Mishra. “The scramble for scarce resources is also starting to create tension between host communities and the displaced population. If the aid community doesn’t address these critical needs now, we fear the region could slide into famine and greater insecurity.”
IRC teams in Goldogob and other impacted towns are providing food vouchers to the most vulnerable, giving priority to pregnant women and mothers with young children. The IRC is also giving new arrivals kits that include blankets, sleeping mats, cooking pots, water containers, soap and a three-month supply of chlorine tablets and oral rehydration sachets. The construction of emergency latrines is starting, while the IRC continues to repair boreholes and other water sources, install new water pipes and provide varied support to families who have lost their farms and livestock. But Mishra says much more is needed to address this emergency.
“The situation is clearly dire in southern Somalia, but it’s urgent that the international donor community widen its scope and allocate more emergency funds for central Somalia,” says Mishra. “Additional health, water, sanitation, livelihoods recovery and cash assistance programs are critically needed.”
NOTE TO EDITORS: For more information and interviews with experts in Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia, London and New York, please contact Sophia Mwangi, +254 737 800 028, Stefano Gelmini, +44 20 7692 2739 or Melissa Winkler, +1 646 734 0305. For ways to support emergency drought relief programs in Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya, please share the link, www.rescue.org/drought.
The IRC in Somalia: The IRC worked in Somalia off and on through the 1980s and 1990s, providing health, water, sanitation, economic opportunities and civil society development programs. In 2007, the IRC launched environmental health and livelihood security projects in central Somalia, which continue today. They include repairing and developing water sources, building and maintaining sanitation facilities, animal health support, cash assistance, cash-for-work activities and more recently, emergency distributions. The IRC operates two field offices in Mudug that support programs throughout the region.
About the International Rescue Committee: A global leader in humanitarian assistance, the International Rescue Committee works in more than 40 countries offering help and hope to refugees and others uprooted by disaster, conflict and oppression. During crises, IRC teams provide health care, shelter, clean water, sanitation, learning programs for children and special aid for women. As emergencies subside, the IRC stays to revive livelihoods and help shattered communities recover and rebuild. The IRC also helps resettle refugees given sanctuary in the United States. A tireless advocate for the most vulnerable, the IRC is committed to restoring hope, dignity and opportunity. For more information visit www.rescue.org
Media Contacts:
Sophia Jones-Mwangi (Nairobi)
+254 737 800 028 / sophia.mwangi@rescue.org
Melissa Winkler (New York)
+1 646 734 0305/ melissa.winkler@rescue.org
Stefano Gelmini (London)
+44 20 7692 2739 / stefano.gelmini@rescue.org
