From Bad to Very, Very Bad - NGO Statement on Somalia

by Michael Bear · 2008-10-09 01:29:00 UTC
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On October 6th fifty-two NGOs active in Somalia released a statement about the rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation.  Assuming nine circles of hell, then the ninth circle probably looks like South and Central Somalia, which suffers from a "destructive combination of extreme insecurity, drought and record-high food prices".  According to the statement:

- Half of Somalia's population (3.25 million) is now in need of humanitarian aid, a 77% increase since the start of 2008

- 1.1 million Somalis are currently displaced.  In the last few weeks alone, 37,000 civilians have fled Mogadishu due to spiralling insecurity, including battles between insurgents and the Ethiopian forces supporting the Transitional Federal Government.

- 180,000 childen under the age of five in South and Central Somalia are acutely malnourished

- 24 aid workers have been killed so far in 2008, of whom 20 are Somali nationals

The situation in Somalia is sufficiently horrific that John Holmes (the other John Holmes) - the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator - has described it as "worse than Darfur".

The first element in this particular witch's brew is rampant, spiraling insecurity.  As the NGO statement noted: "Despite the ongoing political process we have not witnessed any lessening of the violence that continues to have a horrendous impact on civilians...We are appalled by the indiscriminate and disproportional use of force by all armed parties to the conflict, which is further exacerbating the humanitarian crisis."

This, in turn, makes humanitarian access almost impossible.  According to the statement: "At present, South and Central Somalia is almost entirely off limits to international staff of aid agencies." Piracy is also making it difficult to deliver much-needed supplies - at least 60 ships have been attacked off the Somalia coast so far this year.

To make matters worse, Somalia is also suffering from the drought affecting the entire horn of Africa.  (To see a map of the affected areas, click here.)

Finally, there's hyper-inflation, which has caused the price of food and water to rise by 1,600% in some areas.

For further information, see the most recent OCHA situation report on Somalia (from October 8th).

For an in-depth history and analysis of the current situation, see Ken Menkhaus' Somalia reports for the Enough Project.

Image: Reuters

Michael Bear
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