Humanitarian Catastrophe in Somalia

Humanitarian organisation Action Against Hunger | ACF International reiterates its call for an immediate increase in funding to scale up relief efforts and limit the catastrophic impact of the humanitarian catastrophe in Somalia.

“The crisis will only grow in magnitude and severity unless immediate funding is made available and measures are taken to enable aid agencies on the ground to further scale up relief efforts,” urged Jens Oppermann, Country Director for Action Against Hunger in Somalia.

Given the specific humanitarian context of Somalia, it is paramount that large-scale relief efforts are implemented by organisations with the relevant experience of operating within the country and authorisation to do so in order to reach as many affected communities as possible. Collaboration amongst aid agencies responding to the emergency is also crucial to ensure an effective humanitarian response.

ACF's Teams Race Against Time To Save Lives

Present in Somalia for over 19 years, Action Against Hunger has already increased its humanitarian operations in Mogadishu (Benadir) and Wajid (Bakol) to provide treatment and urgent medical care for the malnourished, provide preventative nutritional support for children under five years of age and improve communities’ access to food and water. As the single-largest aid agency currently operating in the Bakol region of Somalia – one of the regions where famine has been declared - Action Against Hunger is well prepared to launch large-scale food distributions and further increase nutrition interventions in the hard-hit areas of South Central Somalia. However, the aid agency still lacks the urgent funding required to launch a response commensurate with the needs of the people affected by this humanitarian catastrophe.

Addressing the Underlying Causes of the Famine

Beyond the implementation of life-saving interventions, urgent measures must be taken in parallel to address the underlying causes of the crisis and mitigate future crises. This must involve providing agricultural support to communities to maximise the next harvest in January, support to reconstitute herds, on which families depend for their livelihoods, rehabilitating water points, and developing income-generating activities to build people’s long term resilience to climate change and support families beyond the immediate crisis. 

“This is the worst food crisis since 1992 when 300,000 people died of famine in Somalia,” said Francois Danel, Trustee of Action Against Hunger. “As a humanitarian agency committed to saving the lives of malnourished children, we must scale up our efforts and do everything possible to save the lives of those affected by this catastrophe in line with our Charter of Principles.”

A Regional Catastrophe

Beyond Somalia, the crisis has gripped the whole Horn of Africa causing malnutrition rates to skyrocket, excessive livestock mortality and massive human displacement. Action Against Hunger’s 500 experts on the ground in Kenya, Somalia, Djibouti and Ethiopia have scaled up programmes and are working round-the-clock to respond to the emergency with cargo planes carrying emergency supplies scheduled to arrive within the next few days.

The current humanitarian response is still hampered by a lack of adequate funding. Donors must act now to limit the effects of this crisis.

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