Highlights
Humanitarian partners, including UNICEF, are scaling up preparedness activities and early response actions to mitigate the impact of the El Niňo phenomenon, expected to cause heavy rains and flooding along the Juba and Shabelle rivers and to further exacerbate drought conditions in coastal areas of Somaliland.
UNICEF and partners continue to provide assistance in response to the continued influx of people fleeing the conflict in Yemen and seeking safety in Somalia.
UNICEF appealed for US$ 111,705,413 to meet the humanitarian needs of women and children in Somalia in 2015. As at 21 October, UNICEF’s humanitarian appeal is 41 per cent funded.
Situation Overview and Humanitarian Needs
Somalia remains in a state of protracted crisis; the humanitarian situation is alarming, with 3.2 million people in need of life-saving and livelihood support, 214,700 children under-5 acutely malnourished, 39,700 of them severely malnourished and 1.1 million in a protracted internal displacement situation. Military operations launched in July 2015 triggered new displacements in parts of central and southern Somalia and the internally displaced are further affected by forced evictions. Somalia could experience flooding in the southern and central regions and Puntland, and an exacerbation of drought conditions in Somaliland, as a result of confirmed El Niňo conditions in the region. The peak of the rainy season is predicted in October, however the effects of the event could extend for several months into 2016, further aggravating the humanitarian crisis. In consultation with authorities at the federal and regional level, the humanitarian community, including UNICEF, has developed a contingency plan, is pre-positioning stocks and is undertaking preventive measures in areas likely to be affected by the El Niňo. Moreover, Somalia continues to respond to the continued influx of returnees and refugees fleeing the conflict in Yemen, increasing the burden on already limited basic services. As at 28 September, according to UNHCR, an estimated 29,310 people (26,110 Somalis; 2,983 Yemenis; 217 Third Country nationals) have fled for safety to the shores of Somalia since the start of the conflict in Yemen in March.