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Somalia Humanitarian Bulletin, March 2022

Pays
Somalie
Sources
OCHA
Date de publication

HIGHLIGHTS

• An urgent scale up of humanitarian assistance is required to prevent extreme food security and nutrition outcomes, including the risk of famine between now and June. Latest projections inform of a reasonable chance of famine occurring in six areas across Somalia through June.

• In January and February, 186 humanitarian partners reached almost two million people affected by drought with life-saving assistance. With more resources and better access to affected areas, the partners will assist more people.

• Health partners have scaled up responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the low uptake, over 1.6 million people (one in every 10 people) have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine since 16 March 2021.

• The Federal Government of Somalia and the United Nations launched a four-year durable solutions project, targeting more than 75,000 IDPs and vulnerable host communities.

• Government authorities and humanitarian partners are striving to provide emergency education in IDP settlements and continue to advocate for the integration of school-going children into existing education structures.

KEY FIGURES

7.7M People need humanitarian assistance in 2022

2.9M People displaced Internally in Somalia

1.4M Children projected to be acutely malnourished

4.8M People experiencing acute food insecurity as of March 2022

4.9M People affected by drought as of March 2022

719K People displaced by drought as of March 2022

INCREASED ASSISTANCE URGENTLY NEEDED TO AVERT RISK OF FAMINE

An urgent and timely scale up of humanitarian assistance is required to prevent extreme food security and nutrition outcomes, including the risk of famine between now and June 2022. Latest projections by the Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit (Famine Risk Analysis March 2022) and partners, inform of a reasonable chance of famine occurring in six areas across Somalia through June 2022 if the April to June rains fail, food prices continue to rise and humanitarian assistance is not scaled up to reach the most vulnerable populations. According to the analysis, the deteriorating food security and nutrition situation across many parts of Somalia is driven by worsening, multi-season drought that has gripped the country since late 2020. Persistent insecurity, conflict and unresolved political tensions – particularly in central and southern Somalia – as well as global supply and price shocks are further exacerbating the food insecurity situation. Areas at risk of famine include the Hawd pastoral areas in central and Hiraan regions, Addun pastoral areas in northeast and central, Bay and Bakool agropastoral areas and IDP settlements in Mogadishu, Baidoa and Dhuusamarreeb. These areas are currently classified in Emergency (IPC Phase 4), with five to 10 per cent of the population facing food catastrophe (IPC Phase 5) outcomes. Other areas of concern include southern agropastoral areas, the southern rain-fed agropastoral areas of Middle and Lower Juba, and Togdheer agropastoral livelihood zones as well as IDP settlements in Burao, Garowe, Belet Weyne, Doolow and Kismayo.

Prevailing La Niña conditions are most likely to result in a historic, fourth consecutive below-average rainfall season in AprilJune 2022 with potentially catastrophic results, according to the Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit (FSNAU) 1 and partners. Most of the annual rainfall in Somalia (75 per cent) is recorded during the April to June (gu’) season, and its performance is critical for crop and livestock-dependent livelihoods. Since December 2021, extreme drought conditions have affected about 4.9 million people, with about 719,000 displaced from their homes in search of water, food, and pasture as of March. The emergency is decimating the lives of people whose coping capacities were already eroded by decades of conflict, food shortages, climatic shocks, disease outbreaks, desert locust infestations and the COVID-19 pandemic. An estimated 3.5 million people lack sufficient access to water, and more than six million people (up from the current 4.8 million people) will need food assistance to prevent crisis (IPC Phase 3) or worse outcomes this year. This includes 1.7 million people who are expected to be in Emergency (IPC Phase 4) and over 81,000 people to face IPC Phase 5 (Catastrophe).

Humanitarian partners, authorities and local communities have prioritized responses, re-programmed activities and scaled up assistance to meet staggeringly increased needs. In January and February, 186 humanitarian partners reached almost 2 million people with life-saving assistance and protection services. With more resources and better access to affected people, more people will be reached with assistance. As of 31 March, US$56.1 million has been contributed to the 2022 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP), which requires $1.5 billion to assist 5.5 million Somalis. In addition, the World Bank has dedicated $45 million in re-programmed and new resources for the drought response. More funding for priority sectors is, however, urgently required to avert the worst outcomes, including the risk of famine. Existing commitments must be frontloaded to enable response commensurate with the urgency and scale of need.

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs: To learn more about OCHA's activities, please visit https://www.unocha.org/.