Highlights
Partners continue to respond to flood-affected people
Fighting displaced thousands in Gaalkacyo
Nutrition situation deteriorates in IDP settlements
FIGURES
No. of people in humanitarian emergency and crisis 1m
No. of people in food security stress 3.9m
No. of acutely 308,000 malnourished children under age 5 Source: www.fsnau.org (July-December 2015 projection)
No. of internally displaced people 1.1m
No. of Somali refugees in the Horn of Africa and Yemen 1.2m Source: UNHCR
FUNDING
863 million requested for 2015 (US$)
39% (334 million) 565 million Total humanitarian funding received for Somalia (reflects reported funding on FTS as of 10 December 2015)
Source: http://fts.unocha.org
Partners respond to flood-affected people
Amount of rainfall continues to reduce but flood risks remain
Partners continued to respond to the needs of people affected by flooding across the country.
By early December, 145,200 people were estimated to be affected by seasonal flooding exacerbated by El Niño conditions, since the onset of the Deyr rainy season in October, according to the FAO-managed Somalia Water and Land Information Management (SWALIM) and partners. Approximately 60,000 of these were displaced persons.
Drawing from lessons learnt from past El Niño events in Somalia, better preparedness and early pre-positioning of supplies in strategic locations were vital in mitigating the impact of flooding.
Humanitarian partners worked with the local authorities to strengthen local response. Community-based early warning systems were also established to help communities in flood-prone areas to prepare better. This was coupled with continuous monitoring of weather and river levels.
Partners stepped up sanitation and hygiene awareness activities in flood-affected areas. As part of the hygiene campaign, guidelines on water treatment and chlorination during emergencies, especially after floods, were disseminated to communities to curb the spread of diseases. Essential drugs were also pre-positioned and distributed to health facilities in areas which have recorded increased cases of malaria and acute watery diarrhoea. In addition, partners also prioritized access to food for affected people, rehabilitating and strengthening of existing small-scale productive infrastructure, including river embankments. Seasonal inputs were provided to farmers to take advantage of the moisture conditions to increase production.
While the rains have reduced in most areas of Juba and Shabelle basins inside Somalia as well as the Ethiopian highlands, some areas in Lower and Middle Shabelle regions continue to receive intermittent rainfall, according to SWALIM. Although the risk of flooding along the lower reaches of Juba and Shabelle Rivers has been downgraded to moderate and minimal, respectively, the risk of flooding remains, if the rains continue largely in part, due to existing river bank breakages and weak embankments.
However, partners are concerned about the impact of flooding, especially in areas where crops and other livelihoods systems have been damaged. In some regions, particularly in Hiraan, Lower and Middle Juba, and Lower and Middle Shabelle, roads have been rendered impassable. This has disrupted the supply of commercial goods and led to increases in the price of food commodities.