About UNICEF Somalia

UNICEF is the organization with the largest presence in Somalia. It has been operational in the country since 1972. Since the collapse of the Somali government in 1991, UNICEF has continued to render services to children in Somalia. UNICEF works with local administrations where they exist, Somali communities, local and international NGOs and other UN agencies to help deliver services to Somali children and women.

How UNICEF works for children in Somalia

The UNICEF country programme in Somalia operates from three geographic areas, known as "zones"

• Hargeisa in the Northwest zone (NWZ), "Somaliland"

• Bossaso in the Northeast zone (NEZ), "Puntland"

• Jowhar in Central and Southern zone (CSZ)

UNICEF also has liaison offices managed by national staff in Mogadishu and Baidoa in Central/Southern Somalia.The three main offices in Hargeisa, Bossaso and Jowhar have full complements of international and national UNICEF staff members, coordinated by a Resident Programme Officer (RPO).

The contacts for the main offices including the UNICEF Somalia Support Centre in Nairobi Kenya are as follows:

UNICEF Somalia Support Centre, Nairobi, Kenya: P.O. Box 44145, Nairobi, 00100 Kenya. Telephone: +254 20 7623862, 7623950/53/55/70, 521218. Fax: +254 20 7623965, 520640.

Physical location: Gigiri, Nairobi, Kenya.

Directions - from Nairobi, City Centre, use Limuru Road and turn into UN Avenue that goes to the main UN Complex. Just long UN Avenue take first major road junction to the left (UN Crescent) which leads to Gigiri Police Station and proceed past the gate.  400 metres up the road after the police gate you will come to a left junction. You will see a building with a high wall with UNICEF logo and sign. That is UNICEF Somalia. NOTE: Do not confuse this with a prior right junction to WFP Somalia, about 100 metres before you get to UNICEF Somalia.

Hargeisa: Tel: +252 252 213 4600 Fax: +252 213 4501. Other numbers: +252-828-5044; 

Jowhar: Tel: +252 1 613501/8. Other numbers: 252-1-211158/211058

Bossaso: Tel: +252 52 32687 Fax: +252 582 4125. Other numbers: + 252 52 36198:

Mogadishu: Tel: 252 210178    Fax: +252 1 658500.

Under its mandate to further the survival, development, protection and participation of Somali children and youth UNICEF, with its partner agencies, adopts a flexible approach to working with the realities of the different parts of the country. Efforts are concentrated at the community level, and strategies are designed to yield specific results. Emphasis is placed on working with communities to identify critical needs, and to prioritise provision of support where it is required. Mobilization of communities themselves to take on the responsibility for management of services, together with direct support, is the main strategy for achieving communities’ ownership of interventions, including their close involvement in decision-making and the use of resources. Long-term rehabilitation and development efforts are being carried out, particularly in the northern regions under the Somaliland (NWZ) and Puntland (NEZ) administrations.

Various projects supported by UNICEF and other organizations assist the administrations and work with communities in strengthening policy development and planning. In CSZ, UNICEF implements programmes in close collaboration with local and international partners and in conjunction with communities. Programme emphasis is placed on primary health care and nutrition, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and basic education, with UNICEF, its partners and local authorities collaborating to address the following areas:

• Health and Nutrition: improvement of the quality and sustainability of health facilities, health service delivery, micronutrient promotion, supplementary feeding and establishment of more accountable health management systems.

• Water and Environmental Sanitation: development of sustainable urban and rural water systems, improvement of hygiene and environmental sanitation at household and community level.

• Education: system-wide education reforms, training in and utilisation of new curriculum, syllabus and textbooks, the delivery of improved standards of learning and the development of education management systems at school and community level.

• Communication, HIV, Empowerment and Protection (CHEP): Advocacy and mobilisation of communities to address the emerging threat of HIV/AIDS, to support the total eradication of female genital mutilation (FGM), and to promote equal opportunities for girls and women.

Somalia remains affected by a combination of problems - insecurity and limited mechanisms for governance. Perhaps the key overall trend observable in the country today is divergence. Northern areas for example, whilst experiencing occasional tensions regarding the disputed region of Sool which both Northwest Somalia (‘Somaliland’) and Northeast Somalia (‘Puntland’) lay claim to, have recorded notably improved economic recovery and political development. Contrastingly, central and southern regions continue to demonstrate the characteristics of crisis and complex emergency, such as the displacement of people due to conflict, and the effects of natural disasters, such as severe flooding and drought.

Child mortality

The rates of child morbidity and mortality in Somalia remain among the highest in the world. A survey undertaken in 2006, the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) estimates the infant mortality rate (IMR) at 86 per 1000 and under five child mortality rate (U-5MR) at 135 per 1000.

Childhood diseases

Infectious diseases, notably respiratory infections and diarrhoeal diseases’ are the leading killers of infants and young children, accounting for more than half of all child deaths. Neonatal tetanus and other birth-related problems also contribute to infant mortality, while measles and its related complications still result in widespread illness and many premature deaths when outbreaks occur. Malaria continues to pose a serious problem.

Indicators for children’s and women’s welfare

In Somalia, current indicators relating to children and women’s welfare almost universally demonstrate a deterioration over the status as measured before the war period:

Child immunization

The level of immunization is still low. The present global immunization coverage of about 30 per cent is far from sufficient to prevent a spread of disease. Only about 5 per cent of children under one have all six recommended vaccinations.

Nutrition

Malnutrition is a chronic problem in Somalia, with 25 per cent of children underweight (moderate and severe). Poor availability and accessibility of food, mainly due to successive droughts and conflicts, quality of dietary intake, infant feeding practices and inadequate home management practices contribute to the poor nutritional status of children.

Maternal Health

Maternal Mortality (MMR) is estimated at 1044 per 100,000, placing Somali women among the most high-risk groups in the world. Haemorrhage, prolonged and obstructed labour, infections and eclampsia are the major causes of death at childbirth. Anaemia and female genital mutilation (infibulation) have a direct impact on, and aggravate these conditions. Poor antenatal and postnatal care, with the almost complete lack of emergency obstetric referral care for birth complications, further contribute to these high rates of mortality and disability.

Access to water

Access to potable water is still one of the major problems in the country, considering that overall only 29 per cent of the population has access to safe drinking water.

Hygiene and Environmental Sanitation

The problem of sanitation is also daunting in Somalia, as only 37 per cent of the population has access to sanitary means of excreta disposal, and traditional pit latrines account for 47 per cent of sanitation methods.

Education

The goal set by Education For All (EFA) is still very far from being achieved considering that there are only 30.3 per cent of children enrolled in primary schools (2006/7 UNICEF Primary School Survey figures), with a rate of 24.3 per cent for girls and 36.3 per cent for boys.

Female Genital Mutilation (FGM)

FGM is performed throughout Somalia on girls between the ages of four and ten, and has a prevalence of over 95 per cent. Infibulation, the extreme form of FGM, is the most common cause of difficult or prolonged delivery, and is one of the main causes of maternal mortality. It affects the physical, mental and psychosocial wellbeing of girls and women.

Staffing

UNICEF has about 210 staff working for its Somalia operation. Of these, about 75 are based at the UNICEF Somalia Support Centre (USSC), in Nairobi, Kenya and the rest in Somalia. About 50 international staff work for UNICEF Somalia.  USSC was established in Nairobi to serve as a logistical support, donor and media liaison base for the UNICEF operation after it became impossible to operate out of Mogadishu for international staff.  International staff have Nairobi as their family station for rest and recuperation.

For further information contact:

Denise Shepherd-Johnson, Chief, Advocacy, Communication and External Relations or Robert Kihara, Communication Officer.

Telephone: 254 20 7623958/50/53/55/70

Fax: 254 20 520640/7623965

Website: http://www.unicef.org/somalia.

For regular information, you can request for the UNICEF Somalia Monthly bulletin via email to mailto:rkihara@unicef.org/dshepherdjohnson@unicef.org OR somalia@unicef.org.