Somalia

Humanitarian situation

A total of 2.12 million Somalis, more than half of whom are children, are still in an acute food security crisis, down from 4 million at the start of 2012.¹ Children continue to suffer greatly, with 16 per cent of them acutely malnourished, and 3.5 per cent severely so.² One in 10 Somali children die before their first birthday and one of every 16women die due to pregnancy-related causes. Some 1.36 million Somalis are currently displaced,³ there has been an increase in forced recruitment of children by militias, and incidence of gender-based violence (GBV) has soared, with reports of girls as young as 3 years old being raped. Forty-four per cent of settlements for internally displaced persons must buy water from sources that are more than two kilometers away and cost an average of US$ 7.50 per barrel.⁴ Open defecation rates are as high as 83 per cent in rural areas, putting communities at high risk of diarrhoeal disease. Only 42 per cent of children are enrolled in school across the country, and only 36 per cent of children enrolled are girls⁵. Conflict and political insecurity continue, and UNICEF operations are restricted in militia-controlled areas owing to a ban by Al-Shabaab.

Results from 2012

UNICEF originally appealed for US$289,134,000, and later revised requirements to US$ 164,305,378 through the Consolidated Appeals Process (CAP) Mid-Year Review. This was due to a number of factors including access restrictions, evolving needs analysis and response strategy, as well as an assessment of partners’ capacity to implement for the remainder of the year. As of 31 October US$60,429,263, or 37 per cent of the revised requirements, were received in contributions from various donors. Despite the November 2011 Al-Shabaab ban on UNICEF operations and severe logistical challenges, UNICEF and partners managed to deliver essential services to children and women. Working closely with local non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and transporters, UNICEF was able to scale up the number of nutrition centres to 1,148 and treat many more acutely malnourished children than targeted. Livelihood support was distributed in the hardest-hit areas to allow the most vulnerable households, especially female-headed households, to access food and other essentials. UNICEF increased support from 120 to 320 health facilities, accounting for about 90 per cent of all health facilities in Somalia. Outreach and campaign immunization continues to be restricted by Al-Shabaab, but UNICEF and partners have been moving into newly accessible areas – meaning that children in some districts are being reached for the first time in four years. Fewer people than planned were reached with new access to sanitation, as UNICEF is shifting its focus from providing subsidized latrines to inspiring whole communities to be ‘open defecation-free’ with Community-Led Total Sanitation, a slower but more sustainable process. Salary incentives kept teachers in the classroom in cases where communities had lost the ability to pay them. Food vouchers were used to encourage students, most of them displaced by famine and conflict, to enrol in school and, once enrolled, to continue to attend. Ongoing fighting has led to an increase in the forced recruitment of children, mostly boys but also girls, by armed forces, as well as sharp increases in GBV, underlining the importance of UNICEF and partners’ reintegration programmes and GBV prevention and response.

UNICEF funding requirements for 2013

In line with the country’s Inter-Agency Consolidated Appeal for 2013, UNICEF is requesting US$140,961,023 to meet the humanitarian needs of children in Somalia in 2013. This funding is essential to reinforce gains made in 2012 and to continue to support Somali women, girls and boys with essential nutrition, health, water, sanitation, protection and education services. In addition, 2013 will also see a more focused resilience approach in all programming.