Somalia Humanitarian Fund Gives $20 Million For Drought Emergency

The Somalia Humanitarian Fund, SHF has launched $20 million to provide immediate assistance to communities at risk of famine in priority locations.

The Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, Adam Abdelmoula said

“A disaster is unfolding in Somalia due to severe drought. In several areas, the risk of famine has increased, and scores of Somalis are on the brink of catastrophe. I am concerned that a huge number of people will starve to death unless we rapidly scale up the delivery of humanitarian assistance to those most affected.” 

Impact Of Drought
In February, the SHF allocated $25 million to mitigate the impacts of severe drought, and about 836,000 people benefitted through multi-sectoral integrated interventions.

The new allocation will focus on underserved, hard-to-reach areas and complements the $14 million Rapid Response grant from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund, CERF which aims to address the worsening food crisis and multi-sectoral needs of communities severely affected by the drought.

Somalia is the most drought-impacted country in the Horn of Africa; at least 6.1 million people have been affected of whom 771,000 have abandoned their homes in search of water, food, and pasture.

At least 1.5 million children are facing acute malnutrition, and over 3,170 cholera and 2,460 measles cases have been confirmed since January.

Despite increasing needs, the 2022 Somalia Humanitarian Response Plan, which seeks $1.5 billion to assist 5.5 million people, has only received 18 percent of the required funding as of 31 May.

CGTN/Christopher Ojilere