Action Against Hunger Scales up its Life-Saving Activities in Somalia

The humanitarian crisis in Somalia is at the heart of the drought emergency currently being experienced by 10 million people throughout the Horn of Africa. Addressing the increasing humanitarian needs in Somalia is imperative and may also allow improved humanitarian assistance to be provided to neighbouring countries. Being one of the only international humanitarian organisations operating life saving programmes in South Central Somalia, Action Against Hunger |ACF International urges the international community to step up their support to hundreds of thousands of people at risk of malnutrition.

A rapidly deteriorating situation
The current crisis in Somalia has been caused by a combination of drought and subsequent dramatic increases of food prices, compounded by prolonged conflict. Due to protracted, drought-like conditions, poor harvests, lack of food and inflation, a bag of 50kg maize currently costs 30 USD in Wajid (Bakool) and 45 USD in Mogadishu (compared to approximately 6 USD previously) - a price that the vast majority of the population cannot afford. Food prices are likely to remain high until the new harvest begins in January.

Somali families who have lost their cattle and livelihoods, are fleeing the area to seek assistance in Mogadishu and neighbouring countries. 2.85 million people in Somalia are severely affected by the ongoing humanitarian crisis, with local famine being reported in some areas. Women, the elderly and children - especially those under five years old - are the most vulnerable. In Southern Somalia, one in three children are acutely malnourished.

Action Against Hunger teams are receiving increasing numbers of malnourished children on a dailz basis: in June, during screening activities at Action Against Hunger nutritional centres in the Wajid area, 80.7% of the 1,443 children attending our programmes were acutely malnourished. In Mogadishu, of the 3,044 children coming into Action Against Hunger nutritional programmes, 2,159 were found to be acutely malnourished - this translates to a ratio of 71.6% malnourished children in June compared to 52.7% in January when the crisis was already extremely serious.

Internally Displaced People (IDPs) arriving in Mogadishu are physically and mentally exhausted, and in physical conditions not previously witnessed by the Action Against Hunger team. They have had to trek long distances in a harsh environment for a number of weeks and are desperately seeking refuge, aid and shelter. With children arriving in such extremely serious conditions, Action Against Hunger's teams are not always able to save children from malnutrition and have witnessed a number of deaths in our treatment centres. 

More than 410,000 displaced people have now arrived to the outskirts of the capital Mogadishu, with hundreds more arriving every day. The situation in Mogadishu continues to deteriorate as quickly as the number of IDPs increases. The few aid organisations present are doing their utmost to provide life-saving aid to people in need of desperate assistance.

Facing this dramatic situation, Action Against Hunger urges the international community to act now by providing immediate support to avoid a looming famine. The current humanitarian response is hampered by a lack of adequate funding.

Action Against Hunger’s emergency response in Somalia

Action Against Hunger is one of the few aid agencies currently operating in Somalia. The organisation's 217 aid experts present in the country have significantly scaled up existing programmes to respond to the emergency. 

Life-Saving Nutrition and Health Programmes
Action Against Hunger runs 16 therapeutic feeding programmes in both the Wajid area and Mogadishu. Last month,  2,073 severely acutely malnourished children were admitted to the programmes.  

Action Against Hunger is increasing the capacity of these centres to reach more children in desperate need and provide live-saving nutrition and medical treatment in Wajid.  In North and South Mogadishu, six medical and health care programmes are already fully operational.

With the support of the Humanitarian Aid Department of the European Union, Action Against Hunger is also establishing a treatment programme for moderate acute malnutrition to prevent more children falling into life-threatening severe malnutrition. The programme aims to reach 12,000 children.  

Food Security to Improve Access to Food
Food security and livelihood activities aimed at improving access to food for 70,000 people in the Wajid area have been launched. Aircrafts chartered by Action Against Hunger loaded with 24 metric tons of humanitarian aid materials will land in Mogadishu at the beginning of next week to replenish our stocks of nutritional products to cope with the influx of patients to our feeding centres.

Improving Access to Water, Sanitation and Hygiene

Action Against Hunger is rehabilitating 25 wells to improve access to water for 7,500 people and livestock. In Mogadishu, ACF is:

• chlorinating 326 water sources
• implementing hygiene promotion activities sessions
• distributing hygiene kits to 5,500 households including jerry cans, soap and cups
• 250 emergency latrines are being set up to prevent disease outbreak 
• distributing jerry cans, nets and soap to 9,000 displaced persons
  
  

Action Against Hunger mobilises  

Action Against Hunger | ACF International is delivering humanitarian aid in Somalia (Wajid and Mogadishu), Kenya (Isiolo, Garbatulla, Makueni and West Pokot), Ethiopia (SNNPR, Oromia, Somali Region), Djibouti, Uganda and South Sudan. ACF's teams are also carrying out a needs assessment in Dollo Addo Refugee Camp at the Ethiopian border where 2,000 Somali refugees arrive every day.