OxfamNovib - somalia

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somalia

Novib has been working with Somali partners since the early 1990s and has contributed to building a vibrant civil society through supporting networks and providing capacity building.

Somalia continues to be at the centre of one of the world’s biggest humanitarian emergencies, with severe drought exacerbated by years of conflict and restrictions on aid access by all parties. Insecurity makes Somalia one of the most difficult places to deliver aid.

a precarious situation

Although no longer classed as in famine, the humanitarian situation in Somalia remains critical with 2.12 million people still in crisis. While conditions have improved considerably, recovery from last year’s crisis is slow due to the enormous loss of livestock and ongoing insecurity. Heavy rain in some parts has brought challenges – cutting off access to markets and food supplies, and increased threat of disease – but also provides hope for harvests, water for people and pasture for their livestock.

Read Oxfam’s food and livelihoods alert for the latest information http://oxf.am/3Jr

Most rural Somalis are pastoralists, herding camels, cattle, goats and sheep. The lack of pasture and water led to deaths of livestock on a large scale, leaving families unable to cope with the crisis.

insecurity

Also, more than two decades of conflict in Somalia has left the country divided. While aid continues to get through, heavy fighting, military offensives and restrictions on humanitarian access mean many people are still not getting as much support as they need. Over the last few years, more than a million people have been forced to flee their homes due to insecurity across the country.

As with all conflicts it is civilians who continue to bear the brunt of the violence. All parties to the conflict must respect international humanitarian law and stop the killing of innocent civilians immediately.

Everyone involved in Somalia must urgently focus on policies that work to address the ongoing humanitarian and show a commitment to enforcing existing international laws within Somalia.

At the same time all agencies need to move from words to action on resilience. Programmes need to be implemented to help Somalis deal with drought and other shocks in the future.

Oxfam is there

Working with local Somali partner organizations, Oxfam has so far reached around 1.6 million people affected by the crisis, and support continues – despite access difficulties.

Our work in Somalia includes:
• Water systems benefiting 800,000 people
• Seed distribution, cash transfers and land cultivation benefiting over 400,000 people
• Public health communications via mobile phone to mitigate the spread of cholera, reaching 100,000 people in IDP camps
• Built 11 well equipped and operational schools that enrolled 7,000 primary school students and 1,395 adult learners

Since 2009, the Community-based Therapeutic Care (CTC) program in Mogadishu, has treated more than 150,000 malnourished children and mothers. This is the largest nutrition program in south – central Somalia. The program is implemented in partnership between Oxfam and SAACID, a local NGO partner. Oxfam rolled out an ‘Integrated Management of Acute Malnutrition’ programme in April 2012 in 26 sites in Hiran and has so far provided nutritional support to approximately 1,700 children under five years of age as well as preventing the causes of malnutrition through WASH and livelihood interventions.

Oxfam also works with partners on long-term development – disaster risk reduction (DRR), investing in livelihood value chain development, rangeland management, and employment generation to build resilience to drought, as well as work on livestock markets.

Like in other emergencies, we're also actively engaged in local, regional and international lobbying on issues related to the crisis in Somalia, including calling for Somalis to be able to access the aid they desperately need.