International humanitarian donors, including Canada, Germany, Sweden, Netherlands, Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States visited Somalia between 14-16 March 2022 to assess the impact of the severe drought affecting the Horn of Africa. The mission, led by the Director for Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia, Latin America and Pacific region of the European Commission’s Directorate-General for Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO), Ms Andrea Koulaimah, visited displacement sites and witnessed first-hand the devastating effects of the drought in some of the hardest-hit locations.

During their visit, donors visited Baidoa, Southwest State and Kismayo, Jubaland, met with the National Drought Committee chaired by the Prime Minister, with regional authorities and humanitarian partners, reiterating the message that donors, national and local authorities, as well as partners must work together to alleviate the suffering.

The drought in the Horn of Africa – coming after the disastrous droughts of 2011 and 2016/17 -- has resulted in more than 700,000 Somalis fleeing their home in search of food and water. Some of them had already been displaced due to armed conflict. Visiting the Baidoa displacement site, donors met with families who had walked for days to reach the site – their last chance for survival. Humanitarian partners assess that, in 2022, one out of every two Somalis need humanitarian assistance and/or protection; one in every three is displaced because of conflict or climate related disasters. 1.4 million children, or close to one in every two children under the age of five are likely to be acutely malnourished, including nearly 330,000 whose lives are threatened by severe malnourishment.

“The common, single priority of humanitarians in Somalia today is to save lives,” stressed Director Koulaimah. “The threat this drought poses to the lives of millions in Somalia is unprecedented. It is urgent to maximise our collective capacity for lifesaving operations reaching all those most at risk, wherever they are, whoever they are. Humanitarian partners, authorities, and the international community must immediately speed up the delivery of humanitarian assistance in the areas most severely affected to avert a major catastrophe. Impediments and restrictions for principled humanitarian action must also be lifted.”

Background

At the end of 2021, the EU allocated EUR 18.5 million in additional humanitarian funding to Somalia in order to help the country fight off what is already its worst drought in decades, impacting millions of people. This drought-specific emergency funding was augmented by another EUR 41 million allocated to Somalia in 2022. EU humanitarian aid is used to provide an emergency response and life-saving activities for populations recently displaced by acute crises, and to address the acute food insecurity which has further increased as a result of the ongoing severe drought. Humanitarian aid will also be used for Education in Emergencies for displacement-affected communities and out-of-school children, and to increase preparedness for disaster response, particularly flood preparedness.

Contact: Mathias Eick, Regional Information Officer, Nairobi: +254-722791604, Mathias.Eick@echofield.eu