Humanitarian Bulletin Somalia, December 2017

HIGHLIGHTS

• Humanitarian needs severe, long-term intervention required.

• 2017 in review: famine averted.

• Nutrition assistance reaches one million people.

• Medical supplies to be prepositioned.

• Polio vaccination campaign begins

• Call to respect neutrality

• The role of the diaspora in famine prevention

• SHF releases an additional $12.3 million

• Somalia Humanitarian Funding Trends 2010-2017

Humanitarian Needs Severe, Long-term Intervention Required

The unprecedented drought, spanning at least four consecutive poor rainy seasons, has resulted in severe and growing humanitarian needs across the country, according to the Humanitarian Needs Overview (HNO) released on 29 November by the Somalia Humanitarian Country Team. Food security needs are nearly double the five-year average due to limited rain, displacement, lack of access to basic services and continuing conflict. The number of people in Emergency (IPC 4) have increased tenfold from 83,000 in January to 866,000 people in November 2017.

Overall, 6.2 million people are in need of humanitarian and protection assistance.

More than half of these require urgent life-saving assistance. The overall median prevalence of Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) rate is at 17.4 per cent in some locations, which is above the emergency threshold of 15 per cent.

Over two million people, including one million in 2017, are now displaced and constitute one-third of those in need of assistance.

The 2018 Somalia HNO reflects a collective and shared understanding of the humanitarian crisis, needs and the number of people who require assistance. It draws from multiple sectoral assessments and consultations with affected communities, authorities and humanitarian partners at all levels and their input guide the overall humanitarian response in 2018.