Somalia Crisis: 'We are witnessing unimaginable human suffering'

Present in Somalia for almost 20 years, Action Against Hunger is reinforcing its programmes in Somalia as humanitarian situation worsens

An interview with Jens Oppermann, ACF Country Director  in Somalia.

What is the situation today in central Somalia?

Central Somalia is the worst affected region of the current humanitarian crisis in the Horn of Africa. The two previous rainy seasons have been extremely dry. Beyond the drought, Somali populations are also faced with a major increase in food prices and the effects of the continuing armed conflict within the country.

As a consequence of the drought, families have been unable to harvest and produce crops.  Even in areas that are normally rich in produce, the harvest is less than 50% of the usual crop.

Most cattle have died. It is common to see dead animals lying in the countryside. People have to walk several hours to fetch water: in Wajid, people sometimes have to walk up to 30km to find a well that contains water for themselves and their cattle. The cattle that are still alive cannot produce enough milk to feed the familly, especially children.

Facing this, families are trying to sell the few remaining animals they have left to generate money to buy food. However, given the weak state of the animals, cattle prices have completely collapsed in some parts of the country. In most areas, a cow would typically sell for around £220, but it now sells for an average of £35. Similarly, goat prices have fallen from £70 to £13.

At the same time, food prices have soared, and in many areas of Somalia they have tripled or even quadrupled. Compared to the previous year, a 50kg bag of maize that previously cost £4 now costs around £22. These prices are completely unaffordable for the vast majority of people who no longer have enough to eat.

Many people survive on just one meal a day, and before this year’s crisis, both adults and children were already suffering from malnutrition. Today one in three children is malnourished.  

Due to this situation, many families have started to flee their homes and travel across the country to seek humanitarian assistance in areas where humanitarian organisations are conducting their life-saving activities; these include Mogadishu and neighbouring countries. Action Against Hunger is one of the very few NGOs still providing humanitarian assistance in Somalia despite high levels of insecurity related to the ongoing conflict. 

Most families are now separated, with some remaining in the centre of the country to take care of their few remaining animals, or because they lack the physical strength to walk across the country to seek humanitarian assistance. Others are moving to Mogadishu to get help and thousands are making their way to refugee camps at the Kenyan border, Ethiopia and Djibouti.

What state are people in when they arrive in Mogadishu?

More than 410,000 displaced people are now living in the outskirts of the capital, Mogadishu, where hundreds more arrive each day. People have walked over vast distances bringing very little with them, except what they can carry.  People arrive mentally and physically exhausted; it is heartbreaking. Members of our teams who have always lived in Somalia, say they have never witnessed such a desperate situation. To survive the only solution is solidarity - everyone shares what they have. The few remaining aid organisations try to provide assistance to people in need of desperate help. But it’s more and more difficult due to the increasing numbers of people arriving as well as the continuing armed conflict within the capital.

In Mogadishu, a few months ago when the crisis was already apparent, we were treating an average of 750 severely malnourished children per month. Last month we admitted 1,350 children. We hope that with increased funding, Action Against Hunger will be able to treat many more children.

People have absolutely nothing. Even the tents of displaced families are made from a few sticks and one or two pieces of fabric. Without any humanitarian assistance and basic services such as food, water and health being provided by organisations like Action Against Hunger, it is impossible to survive in such conditions. There are a few remaining food markets in the city, but due to the soaring food prices, families are unable to buy anything: a bag of corn here is £35 (instead of £4 last year). Life is extremely hard for families in Mogadishu.

Given the conditions in which people live and the state of the city in general, there are fears of disease outbreaks. Due to this, Action Against Hunger is carrying out large scale activities including hygiene promotion programmes, distributing basic hygiene items, and providing access to safe water as well as sanitation facilities.

What else is Action Against Hunger doing?

All across the country, Action  Against Hunger is running 16 nutritional programmes including in central Somalia where our teams have set up nine outpatient treatment centres for children with severe acute malnutrition and an additional inpatient centre for the care of the most complicated cases.  We are trying to increase the capacity of these centres in order to treat more children and are adding a medical care component as there is no health centre in the area.

We are also setting up a treatment programme for moderate acute malnutrition, in order to further address the underlying causes of acute malnutrition and high mortality rate in an attempt to prevent even more children from suffering from severe malnutrition, often leading to death. Aircraft chartered by Action Against Hunger and loaded with humanitarian aid materials will land next week to replenish our stocks of medicines to cope with the influx of visitors to our feeding centres.

We are also launching a major programme to improve household food security so families have better access to food. We would like to increase our programmes further but we’ll only be able to do so if funds are made available by donors.

Moreover, in the same area, we are still running a programme to rehabilitate wells to improve access to water for communities and livestock.

In Mogadishu, two inpatients programmes and 4 outpatient centres for the treatment of severe acute malnutrition are operating at full capacity, including the provision of health care (vaccinations, antenatal and postnatal, treatment of common diseases, health education). But again, we are trying to increase our capacity.

Facing the increasing concentration of people and the high prevalence of diarrheal diseases, Action Against Hunger is also conducting chlorination of water sources, hygiene promotion and latrine construction. Thanks to the prepositioning of emergency materials in the previous years, Action Against Hunger was able to address the increasing needs for sanitation over the last month.

The needs in Somalia are immense. Our teams tell us they have never seen such a situation in the country before. Action Against Hunger still lacks about 50% of the funds needed to better address the urgent humanitarian needs of the civilians populations of Somalia to both in the short and medium term.