Attachments
Highlights
• The humanitarian situation in Somalia continues to deteriorate with 6.2 million people in need of assistance, representing more than half of the population, and a sharp increase of the population in need (5 million six months ago). This includes 2.9 million people in crisis and emergency (IPC Phase 3 and 4). Similarly, 363,000 children under-5 are acutely malnourished (up from 320,000 in August 2016), including 71,000 severely so (up from 50,000) and in need of urgent life-saving assistance.
• The drought is further aggravating the nutrition crisis, which will likely lead to a considerable deterioration in children’s wellbeing. Without urgent assistance, there will be a sharp rise in the caseload of children requiring urgent treatment. Acute watery diarrhoea (AWD)/cholera also continues to jeopardize the lives of children with more than 2,300 cases reported since the start of the year in southern regions.
• Should the 2017 Gu season perform very poorly and humanitarian assistance not reach populations affected by drought, there is a risk of famine (IPC Phase 5) unfolding in the second half of 2017.
Situation in Numbers
6.2 million
People in need of humanitarian assistance
363,000
Children under-5 acutely malnourished
UNICEF Appeal 2016 - US$ 82 million *
*Funds available include funding received for the current appeal year as well as the carry-forward from the previous year.
Situation Overview and Humanitarian Needs
The humanitarian situation in Somalia continues to deteriorate with 6.2 million people in need of assistance, representing more than half of the population, and a sharp increase of the population in need (5 million six months ago). This includes 2.9 million people in crisis and emergency (IPC Phase 3 and 4). Similarly, 363,000 children under-5 are acutely malnourished (up from 320,000 in August 2016), including 71,000 severely so (up from 50,000) and in need of urgent life-saving assistance. Should the 2017 Gu season perform very poorly and humanitarian assistance not reach populations affected by drought, there is a risk of famine (IPC Phase 5) unfolding in the second half of 2017.
The current drought is further aggravating the nutrition crisis, which will likely lead to a considerable deterioration in children’s wellbeing. An estimated 200,000 children under-5 are acutely malnourished in drought-affected areas and without urgent assistance, there will be a sharp rise in the caseload of children requiring urgent treatment. A comprehensive response to nutrition requires an associated health response. There are 2.5 million people in drought affected areas in need of health and nutrition services, including 616,000 women of child bearing age, and 401,000 children under the age of 5.
In Puntland and Somaliland alone, there are more than 1 million people in urgent need of WASH assistance, and water prices have increased six-fold in some of the worst hit remote pastoral settlements. Reduced access to water contributes directly to malnutrition, and the water shortages reported in all drought-affected regions bring with it an increased risk of Acute Watery Diarrhoea/cholera outbreak. In southern regions of Somalia, more than 2,300 AWD/cholera cases have been reported since the start of the year, and we can expect the number of cases to increase as drought conditions intensify and rivers dry up.
The drought is also affecting education. A recent assessment indicates that 20,000 children have dropped out of school in Puntland due to the drought and with already 3 million children out of school in Somalia, more than 270,000 schoolaged children enrolled in schools in drought-affected areas are at risk of missing out on education. The drought is also triggering additional displacements, with pastoralist communities migrating to coastal areas in Puntland where rains have been received, and drought-affected populations moving to towns in search of services, putting additional pressure on the already limited resources available at urban level.