Humanitarian funds release US$45.7 million for life-saving assistance in Somalia
Wednesday April 3, 2019
"Support from CERF and the SHF will enable aid organizations to scale up and sustain life-saving assistance in the worst-affected areas in the country as the Jilaal (dry season) persists,” said George Conway, the acting Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia. "This allocation is critical, but further generous donor funding will be needed to sustain aid operations and support recovery across Somalia.” The SHF allocation is the largest since 2012 and would not have been possible without early donor support. Germany has been the top donor to the Fund since 2017; other top donors are Australia, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, the Republic of Korea, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.
Despite improvements in the humanitarian situation in 2018, the food security situation in Somalia has deteriorated, particularly in the north, and in some central parts of the country due to poor Deyr seasonal rains, the lingering effects of the 2016/2017 drought, conflict, displacement and evictions. The number of people facing acute food insecurity or worse has remained at 1.5 million since last year, but with a geographical shift in needs towards northern Somalia. Overall, 4.9 million Somalis are estimated to be food insecure.
The 2019 Somalia Humanitarian Response Plan, seeking $1.08 billion, is only 12 per cent funded to date. With conflict, displacement and climatic shocks persistently causing high levels of humanitarian and protection concerns, life-saving assistance must be sustained alongside livelihood support.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Humanitarian funds release US$45.7 million for life-saving assistance in Somalia
The United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) and the Somalia Humanitarian Fund (SHF) released a combined US$45.7 million today to scale up life-saving assistance in Somalia, where over 4.2 million people need urgent humanitarian assistan