Attachments
NOTE: The last fact sheet was dated May 11, 2007.
KEY DEVELOPMENTS
- Increased insecurity and localized conflict continue to hinder emergency relief efforts in Mogadishu and central and southern Somalia. Insecurity results from roadblocks, banditry, marine piracy, inter-clan fighting, and a rise in the use of targeted bombs and landmines, according to humanitarian organizations operating in the region.
- As of May 25, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that an estimated 90,000 people displaced from recent fighting in Mogadishu had returned to the capital. An estimated 301,000 people remain displaced, concentrated in Galgadud, Lower Shabelle, Middle Shabelle, Hiran, and Mudug regions.
- Due to lack of access and dwindling
supplies, food prices have increased in Mogadishu, exacerbating conditions
for local populations. Between mid-March and mid-April, prices for wheat
flour and sugar both increased by more than 50 percent, according to the
U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization's (FAO) Food Security Analysis
Unit.
| NUMBERS AT A GLANCE | SOURCE | |
| Newly Displaced(1) | 301,000 | OCHA/UNHCR(2) - May 2007 |
| Additional Population in Need of Assistance | 600,000 | U.N. Somalia CAP(3) - April 2007 |
| Somali Refugees (4) | 300,000 | State/PRM(5) - May 2007 |
HUMANITARIAN FUNDING PROVIDED TO DATE (FY 2006 AND FY 2007)
USAID/OFDA Assistance to Somalia: $19,102,291
USAID/FFP(6) Assistance to Somalia: $106,683,700
USAID/OTI(7) Assistance to Somalia: $1,000,000
State/PRM Assistance to Somalia: $6,970,000
Total USAID and State Humanitarian Assistance to Somalia: $133,755,991
CURRENT SITUATION
Humanitarian Access
- Limited access to displaced populations and conflict-affected communities due to insecurity, rainfall, roadblocks, and clan fighting continue to hamper relief operations in Somalia. OCHA reports that heavy rains and localized flooding are responsible for road closures in Hiran, Gedo, Lower Juba, Middle Juba, Lower Shabelle, and Middle Shabelle regions, in addition to the closure of Jowhar airport. OCHA also notes the prevalence of sporadic violence in Mogadishu and other areas of central and southern Somalia.
- According to the U.N. World Food Program (WFP), an escalating trend in piracy attacks off the coast of Somalia is decreasing the availability of vessels for WFP operations in the region. The recent upsurge in attacks, including the May 19 attack of a WFP-chartered ship off the coast of Marka, threatens to disrupt the vital shipping supply line for humanitarian assistance to Somalia.
- USAID regional advisors based in Nairobi continue to closely monitor humanitarian access and coordinate response efforts with U.N. agencies and implementing partners operating throughout central and southern Somalia.
Population Movements
- Minimal returns reported by UNHCR reflect the continued concerns of renewed violence among displaced populations, as well as the impact of rains in Mogadishu and Lower Shabelle Region and the threat of evictions from government buildings. The presence of more than 380,000 newly displaced persons is straining the already limited resources of host communities still recovering from repeated shocks of conflict, drought, and floods. In some areas, host communities have more than doubled in size as a result of the influx of internally displaced persons (IDPs), increasing competition for social services, markets, housing, and employment opportunities.
Despite ongoing challenges, humanitarian agencies continue to increase response efforts to displaced and conflict-affected populations throughout central and southern Somalia. On May 16, WFP initiated a second round of food distributions targeting 122,500 IDPs in Lower Shabelle Region and the outskirts of Mogadishu. In addition, OCHA reported that CARE recently completed food distributions to 60,000 IDPs in Galgadud and Mudug regions, host to the highest concentrations of newly displaced persons from the recent fighting in Mogadishu.
- OCHA reported the approval of an additional $2.7 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to augment shelter, emergency relief supply, and water, sanitation, and hygiene programming for newly displaced populations. Implementing agencies UNHCR and the U.N Children's Fund (UNICEF) are targeting 270,000 IDPs in Banadir, Galgadud, Lower Shabelle, Middle Shabelle, and Mudug regions.
Notes:
(1) Figures for new displacement since February 1 do not reflect long-term displaced populations countrywide.
(2) Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
(3) Revised Consolidated Appeal for Somalia for 2007
(4) Most Somali refugees are located in Kenya, Yemen, or Ethiopia.
(5) U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration
(6) USAID's Office of Food for Peace
(7) USAID's Office of Transition Initiatives