Kismayo – Abdirahman Abdi Ahmed’s path to helping his fellow Somalis mired in humanitarian crises in southern Somalia’s Jubaland was a circuitous one. It was also a journey that left him with a keen awareness of some of the challenges that his countrymen and women face in such circumstances ― displacement, despair and doubt. “The plight of internally displaced persons (IDPs) and refugees is not new to me, I lived through it, and I understand what it means as I had spent most of my life outside my country,” he says. Mr. Ahmed was born in 1988 to a family of eight in Afmadow, a town of about 200,000 people located in the Lower Juba region of the Federal Member State of Jubaland, southern Somalia. His upbringing changed dramatically when Somalia’s civil war erupted three years afterwards.  The conflict forced his family to flee over the border to northern Kenya, where it settled in the town of Garissa and tried to build a new life for its members. There, Mr. Ahmed attended Boystown Primary School from 1997 to 2004 and went on to County High School from 2005 to 2008. On to Zambia In 2010 he was awarded a scholarship to study at Cavendish University, in Zambia, from where he graduated with a degree in economics in 2015. His experiences in Zambia added to his understanding of humanitarian affairs and the impact of helping people in need. While studying, he spent two years working as a monitoring and evaluation assistant at Zambia’s Ministry of Community Development on a maternal and child health project supported by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). This involved travelling and interacting with residents of the Maheba refugee camp in Zambia, which at the time housed some tens of thousands of refugees from countries such as Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, Sudan and even Somalia. After graduation, he was employed by Zambia’s Office of the Commissioner for Refugees in the Ministry of Home Affairs in Zambia, as an advocate for refugees and asylum seekers in the country. “I used to spend time with refugees in camps, listened to their stories and tried to keep their spirits up, so they didn’t lose hope and looked to good days ahead,” the 34-year-old says. “When I told them how I ended up there, they felt they were not alone.”   Back to Somalia But the pull of Somalia was strong, and he returned to his homeland in late 2016, making his way to the interim capital of Jubaland, Kismayo. He landed a job as a director-general in the Federal Member State’s Ministry of Interior, where he was charged with handling its federal relations and reconciliation efforts. Despite the new responsibilities, he remained engaged in humanitarian matters and was in charge of managing and coordinating the resettlements of people returning from Kenya’s Dadaab camp, the world’s third-largest complex hosting refugees and asylum seekers. He was also able to attend to the needs of internally displaced people (IDPs) and returnees in Kismayo, where there are currently some hundreds of people who are integrated and share day-to-day life with the host communities. In his director’s role, he was responsible for implementing the ‘Midnimo’ (Unity) programme – which was initially supported by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and UN-Habitat. Midnimo is a cluster of humanitarian, development and peacebuilding projects providing durable solutions to the IDPs and host communities. The programme was piloted in Jubaland, and South West States, and later expanded to other states. In early 2019, Mr. Ahmed was transferred to Jubaland’s Ministry of Youth and Sports, again as a director-general. Still, the needs of the region’s displaced people remained an important focus for him and even overlapped with his work at the ministry. For example, they rehabilitated the Inji youth centre in Kismayo with the help of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), while the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) provided equipment and the needed facilities. “Today, as anyone can see, nearly 500 people are receiving vocational training and have access to sports there, including IDPs and returnees from the Dadaab refugee camp,” Mr. Ahmed says. “The fact is that trained, young people contribute to job creation opportunities, allowing youth to earn a living legally.” Humanitarian minister In May 2021, Mr. Ahmed’s efforts and passion were recognised ― he was appointed Jubaland’s Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management. The Federal Member State’s three regions currently host almost a million displaced people due to the ongoing conflict with the Al-Shabaab terrorist group, the severe drought currently gripping Somalia and, more specifically for Jubaland, periodic floodings, which are often a consequence of drought-induced dry soil.   “[In 2018], I personally rescued a mother and her six children and relocated them to a safer place - to a house built for IDPs and returnees. Those people had been displaced by drought and conflict; then they fell victim to floods,” he says, recalling flash floods which that displaced hundreds of IDPs in the Farjano Dalhis area in Kismayo district. In his new role as the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, his concerns for Jubaland’s residents affected by such crises became even more urgent. Mr. Ahmed worked with the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) to ensure that affected people received support. “With the needed resources, community engagement and accountability, the suffering of displaced people can be lessened. We can do something about the status quo that for the moment is either flood or drought or famine in Somalia,” he says. Mr. Ahmed firmly believes that the response to Somalia’s humanitarian crises needs to include good governance and durable solutions, with the latter integrating measures such as water catchment areas and the construction of gabions on the riverbanks to avert the recurring floods. “Somalia is endowed with natural resources, and it needs good governance that creates a peaceful environment for Somalis to achieve their full potential and focus on long-term solutions mitigating the impact of the repeated natural crises,” he says. “As long as there is no concrete long-term strategy, the trend will likely continue.” The Federal Government of Somalia has developed and adopted the National Durable Solutions Strategy 2020-2024 for Somalia to holistically address the root causes of displacement and its consequences. The strategy’s longer-term intent is to reduce and mitigate the adverse impacts of displacement created by recurrent natural disasters and related links with conflicts and governance. In July this year, Mr. Ahmed’s career trajectory took a new path with his appointment as Jubaland’s Minister of Planning. But despite the new focus, he says the humanitarian needs of his fellow citizens will remain a priority as long as he is at the decision table. “While I am in charge of the Planning Ministry, I will work towards developing a strategy that will lead to durable solutions for the people in need,” he says. Spectre of famine Somalia is currently facing a humanitarian crisis, brought on by the worst drought in at least 40 years. Some 7.8 million people, nearly half the population, are affected, and some areas are already at risk of famine. Although the number of people reached by aid organisations has quadrupled since January to 5.3 million, a further scale-up in aid is needed, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).  In his remarks to the UN Security Council on Wednesday, 7 September, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Somalia, James Swan, called for all parties in Somalia to facilitate humanitarian access, and for donors to increase funding. “With ever-escalating needs and a fifth failed rainy season projected, a further scale-up of humanitarian assistance is critical. I call on all parties in Somalia to facilitate humanitarian access. I call on all of Somalia’s friends to increase urgently the needed funding,” the UN official said. Link to the original story. 

With more than 100,000 people at imminent risk of death from hunger, Baidoa, in South West Somalia, is the epicenter of the starvation crisis ravaging the country. At the Bay Regional Hospital, the main referral hospital in South West State, babies lie motionless, too weak to even cry. Mothers – some of them children themselves – look on, resigned. After all, this has been the fate of generations of mothers before them. Endless cycles of drought, disease, hunger and war seem to have become the norm.  Similar scenes fill the Banadir hospital, right in the city of Mogadishu. Scenes of emaciated children and hopeless parents.  The stories of the children of Somalia today need to be heard by people around the world. USG Griffiths meets with 6-year-old Nur and his mother, Safiya, during a visit to the Bay Regional Hospital in Baidoa, Somalia. (Photo: UNOCHA/ Mukhtar Nuur) Nur Usman is six years old, but he looks three. His mother Safiya says that he has been sick for a while, but she couldn’t afford to take him to the hospital. Abdi Aziz is three years old. He can barely move or breathe and is oblivious to the commotion of the hospital staff and visitors around him. Nuurto is 2.5 years old. She was admitted to the Banadir hospital three weeks after arriving to Banadir, along with her family, fleeing hunger in Lower Shabelle. Neither Nur Usman, Abdi Aziz or Nuurto could smile. None of the children we saw at both hospitals smiled. Very few of them could even cry, and if they did it sounded more like whimpering. All of them will require intensive treatment to get better. Some of them will recover. Some of them won’t. Nuurto didn’t. Two days after we met her, we learned that she had passed. The stories of, Nur Usman, Abdi Aziz and Nuurto are sad, but unfortunately, not unique. The latest Somalia Food Security and Nutrition analysis report shows concrete indications that famine will occur in two areas in the Bay region (Baidoa and Burhakaba districts) in South-Central Somalia between October and December. This means that children are already dying from starvation and disease. Many more will die – like Nurrto – if they don’t get the urgent help they need. As Martin Griffiths, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, put it: “Famine is at the door. We are in the last minute of the 11th hour to prevent a full-blown disaster.”

New York - Somalia is at a “tipping point”, with hundreds of thousands of people at immediate risk of famine, the heads of the UN’s highest-level humanitarian coordination forum have warned.  In a statement issued on Monday, the principals of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) called for increased support and humanitarian access to save lives. Famine is already unfolding in Baidoa and Burhakaba districts in south-central Somalia, and they said the situation will likely last until March if aid is not significantly and immediately scaled up. 'Unacceptable' hunger crisis Meanwhile, millions more Somalis face extreme levels of acute hunger. Women, particularly pregnant and lactating women, as well as children under five, are among the most vulnerable, and require urgent assistance now to avoid a worst-case scenario.  “Starvation and death are likely already occurring. During the 2011 famine, about 50 per cent of the more than 250,000 people who died, did so before the official declaration. At least half were children,” they said.  The IASC brings together the heads of 18 organizations, namely key UN agencies and their partners, to better prepare for and respond to humanitarian crises.  The warning comes as some 20.5 million people across the Horn of Africa are in the grip of what its chiefs called “a dire and entirely avoidable hunger crisis", adding “this is unacceptable”.  They said famine declarations should not be the only trigger for meaningful action.  However, even though local authorities, governments, UN agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have been issuing alerts about catastrophic hunger for more than a year, they said these alerts have largely been overlooked.  'Explosion in needs' Furthermore, despite global commitments to anticipating crises, funding has not reached the scale needed.  Although a rapid scale-up of humanitarian assistance since early in the year has undoubtedly saved many lives, the “explosion in needs” is quickly outpacing resources.  “Together, we have averted famine before. We can and must do so again,” they said.   “In a world of staggering wealth, it is unacceptable that people are dying of hunger. We must take action now”.     Facilitate access, provide funding The statement called for all sides to facilitate immediate and safe access for humanitarian operations.  The partners also appealed for donors to provide immediate, flexible funding so that humanitarian agencies on the ground, particularly local and international NGOs, can rapidly scale up and prevent more deaths, protect livelihoods, and avert a deepening catastrophe.  Getting aid to rural communities before they are forced to abandon their homes in search of food is critical, they added. 'A final warning'  UN Humanitarian Affairs Coordinator Martin Griffiths, the IASC chair, wrapped up a five-day visit to Somalia on Monday, his first to the country.  “I have been shocked to my core these past few days by the level of pain and suffering we see so many Somalis enduring,” he told journalists in the capital, Mogadishu.  “Famine is at the door,” he said, “and today we are receiving a final warning.”  Source: UN News

New York – Addressing the United Nations Security Council today, the world body’s top official for Somalia urged the country’s federal and state authorities to collaborate closely to achieve progress on the new government’s goals, including improving governance and justice, effectively countering Al-Shabaab, and responding urgently to the worsening humanitarian crisis. In his remarks to the Council’s meeting on the Horn of Africa country, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Somalia, James Swan, also reaffirmed the United Nations’ commitment to supporting Somalis in achieving their national priorities. Women’s participation Mr. Swan said Somalia’s new government had moved swiftly to outline a four-year work programme that covers goals and activities across the six pillars of security, justice, reconciliation, economic development, social development and foreign relations. However, he pointed to areas that still needed to be addressed. “Unfortunately, women remain under-represented in cabinet positions and parliamentary committees. Just 13 per cent of cabinet members are women, and 21 per cent of parliamentary committee members,” said Mr. Swan, who also heads the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM).  “I call again for Somali leaders to take further measures to ensure women’s meaningful participation across institutions of government, as well as the inclusion of youth and historically marginalized groups,” he added. Insecurity a priority Mr. Swan said the new administration had identified security as its top national priority, which “comes at a time when Al-Shabaab has demonstrated increased boldness.” The insurgents recently carried out targeted assassinations, complex attacks, and large-scale military actions along the border with Ethiopia, which he condemned. Regarding the fight against the terrorist group, the UN Special Representative commended the Somali Security Forces and their counterparts from the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) “who at great cost in lives continue to fight to defend the population against Al-Shabaab.” Spectre of famine Somalia is currently facing a humanitarian crisis, brought on by the worst drought in at least 40 years. Some 7.8 million people, nearly half the population, are affected, and some areas are already at risk of famine. Although the number of people reached by aid organisations has quadrupled since January to 5.3 million, a further scale-up in aid is needed, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).   In his remarks to the Council, Mr. Swan called for all parties in Somalia to facilitate humanitarian access, and for donors to increase funding. “With ever-escalating needs and a fifth failed rainy season projected, a further scale-up of humanitarian assistance is critical. I call on all parties in Somalia to facilitate humanitarian access. I call on all of Somalia’s friends to increase urgently the needed funding,” the UN official said. He also drew particular attention to the situation of Somali women and children. “The ongoing humanitarian crisis has especially contributed to the vulnerability of displaced women and children, who historically have faced discrimination and exclusion from service,” he said.  “I urge the Somali authorities to increase prevention measures for the risk of sexual violence, particularly against women and girls, including by strengthening security at water points and at food distribution sites.” Looking ahead Addressing longer-term development, Mr. Swan highlighted progress on debt relief. In June, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) released $350 million in development funding for Somalia.  Other donors also have resumed budgetary support so the country can sustain the required reform efforts to complete the debt relief process.  The UN Special Representative concluded his remarks by reiterating the UN’s commitment to continue supporting the Somali government and people in achieving their national goals. Source: UN News