1. GENERAL SITUATION
More than 11, 5 million people in the African Horn (region composed of Eritrea, Djibouti, Ethiopia and Somalia) need urgent food assistance to survive. Approximately 4 million of them live in Somalia; of these mentioned 4 million, 2.555.000 live in rural areas and 1,8 million is in under humanitarian emergency state. While 1, 46 million became internally displaced persons (IDP), 62% of these people’s reason was drought and 38% of these people’s reason was armed conflicts. The main reasons of the humanitarian crisis are inadequate rainfall, difficulties in humanitarian relief transportation, internal conflicts and sky-rocketed food prices. The scale of humanitarian crisis is expected to expand.
Somalia, as a result of the conflict and climate change related disasters, is faced with the worst humanitarian crisis in the history of country. 53% of the Somalia population (total population is 8 million) was affected from the increased epidemics, malnutrition and loss of economic power resulted from the natural disasters like drought and floods. 3, 7 million crisis affected people are from South and Central Somalia. As it is stated by the UN, unless an intervention takes place in the following months, famine will spread to the North region as well.
Following an unproductive rain season (October-December Deyr and April-June Gu rain seasons), the UN declared drought in South and Central Somalia on July 20, 2011 considering the worsening food security situation. Due to the excessive land usage in North Barkool and Lower Shabelle in the South Somalia, the arable land was also declared to become unproductive. As a result of drought, conflicts and economic problems, the most affected people who were displaced are rural and nomadic communities. As the IDPs migrated to the neighbouring countries like Kenya and Ethiopia in search of food and safety, migration rate increased in the first 6 months of 2011. Every day, about 3.500 people migrate to Kenya and Ethiopia, in where the severe food shortage exists. When 383.000 affectees took refuge in three camps in Dadaab, Kenya, about 228.000 Somalis have been temporarily sheltered in Ethiopia.
310.000 children were diagnosed with malnutrition in Somalia’s worst affected regions Lower Shabelle, Central and Lower Juba, Bay, Bakool, Benadir, Gedo and Hiraan. Especially in Bakool and Lower Shabelle, acute malnutrition rates exceed 50%. The impact of famine leading to emergency in the south of Somalia diminished in the second half of 2011 with average rainfall.
International community defined 4 priorities for humanitarian relief scheme in Somalia in 2011. These are:
• Provide life-saving assistance to 380,000 people living facing emergency, the most vulnerable of the 1.46 million IDPs, and those affected by the recent crises
• Capitalizing on Deyr and Gu rains seasons to improve livelihood assets to protect population from future shocks and to prevent the situation of people who have been suffering acute food and livelihood crisis from turning into an emergency.
• Providing basic services to the vulnerable population for their survival.
• Seeking dialogue with local authorities, achieving community mobilization and providing access to services for the purpose of providing protection for the civilian population.