Attachments
Highlights
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UNICEF and partners have treated 54,071 children suffering from severe acute malnutrition (SAM) in 2018. This is 19 per cent higher than the same time last year, at the peak of the pre-famine response - highlighting the continuing trend of critical levels of acute malnutrition in country.
UNICEF continues to deliver large-scale integrated basic nutrition services package (BNSP) throughout the country, providing curative and preventive care. -
As part of the ongoing national measles vaccination campaign, after successful completion of the campaign in Puntland in January, UNICEF and partners conducted measles campaigns in March in central and southern regions of Somalia, and Somaliland. 2,734,941 children between six months and 10 years were vaccinated (102 per cent of the targeted 2,693,928). Since the start of the year, 4,067 suspected measles cases were reported – 72 percent being children under-five.
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During the month of March, the Monitoring and Reporting Mechanism verified 317 cases of grave violations affecting 302 children (69 girls) mostly through abduction (158), killing/maiming (89) and child recruitment and use by armed forces and groups (70).
5.4 million
People in need of humanitarian assistance
(FSNAU-FEWSNET Technical Release, February 2018)
1.2 million
Children under-5 that are or could be acutely malnourished in the next year
UNICEF 2018 Appeal-US$154.9 million
Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs
The humanitarian situation in Somalia remains critical due to ongoing impacts of drought, displacement and conflict. As per the FSNAU-FEWSNET 2017 Post Deyr findings, 5.4 million people are still in need of urgent assistance, including 2.8 million children. Malnutrition rates across Somalia are among the worst in the world. Currently, nearly 301,000 children under the age of five are acutely malnourished, including 48,000 who are severely malnourished and face death if urgent treatment is not provided; in total about 1.2 million children under five are projected to be malnourished in 2018 and of them, 232,000 expected to be suffering from life threatening malnutrition. Over 4.4 million people need humanitarian WASH services, with 3.5 out of 5 people without adequate water to meet basic needs. More than 5.7 million people require basic health services, including critical needs in maternal and child health, as one in seven Somali children die before the age of five. Disease outbreaks such as acute watery diarrhoea (AWD)/cholera and measles continue to represent a major threat to children, with over 1,764 cases of AWD/cholera (56 per cent children under 5) and 4,313 cases of suspected measles reported in 2018. Over 3 million children, out of 4.9 million in country, are estimated to be out of school. More than 2.1 million people have been displaced, including over 1 million in the last year alone; and displacement flows continue at critical levels into areas such as Baidoa in Bay Region, which has received an average of 700 new arrivals per week since mid-January, 2018. Exclusion and discrimination of socially marginalized groups continue to exacerbate high levels of acute humanitarian needs. More than 76 percent of recorded gender-based violence (GBV) survivors are reported to be from IDP communities. Grave violations against children continue at worrying rates, with abductions, recruitment and use, and killing/maiming reported as the primary concerns.