Famine Looms in Somalia as Crisis
Marks 20th Year

07 March, 2011 | By Elizabeth Campbell
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    The potential famine looming in
    Somalia is not being met with any
    sense of urgency by the U.S.
    Government. The humanitarian arm
    of USAID is currently frozen while
    the U.S. debates a new policy on
    the provision of humanitarian
    assistance in south and central
    Somalia. If the spring rains fail,
recent assessments indicate that nearly five million people in
southern and central Somalia will struggle to meet their basic
food and water requirements for survival in the coming months.
In the worst case scenario, total crop failure and massive
livestock mortality would occur leading to extreme food
insecurity across much of the region. Even if the rains are
average, food security in the region will not improve until at
least the summer. There are already significant population
movements occurring both within Somalia and into neighboring
countries. Malnutrition rates among children have risen and an
estimated 2.4 million people, over 32% of the country's total
population, are in need of aid. Experts are recommending that
substantial assistance programs be implemented to address this
looming disaster.

Over the last six months, the drought in South Central Somalia
has deepened an already catastrophic humanitarian situation.
The fighting between the internationally-backed Transitional
Federal Government (TFG) , the African Union Peacekeeping
Mission (AMISOM) and armed opposition groups has
escalated in recent weeks and is expected to intensify even
more over the coming months. The fighting has led to an
increase in civilian deaths, forced displacement, and the
destruction of homes and livelihoods. In January Kenya alone
received 8,000 new refugees, which is the highest number in
more than two years. According to UN estimates, at least 2.4
million Somalis are in need of humanitarian assistance. This
includes
    internally
    displaced
    people (IDPs)
    living in the
    Afgoye
    Corridor, home
    to the world's
    largest IDP
    camp. And yet
    many aid
    agencies are no
longer working in these areas due insecurity and ongoing
violence. Humanitarian access has grown more difficult over the
last year and is proving to be equally as challenging in 2011.

Despite all of these obstacles, it is critical that the U.S.
Government quickly come to a decision about its humanitarian
policy in Somalia and begin to act. It is indeed one of the most
challenging working environments in the world, but that alone
should not be a deterrent. The needs of the civilians should
drive all humanitarian action. Other considerations should be
secondary to the provision of life saving assistance. As the
Somali people mark two decades of fighting and civil war, they
are at the very least deserving of a strong, coordinated
international humanitarian response. Though power holders and
decision makers across the world are fatigued by the conflict in
Somalia, now is not the time to forget the suffering of innocent
civilians.
                                      Courtesy
All rights reserved.
Ethio Quest News
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