United Nations Allocates $33.3 Million for Humanitarian Aid in Somalia for 2024
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Synopsis
The UN relief agency announced a substantial allocation of $33.3 million for humanitarian assistance in Somalia in 2024 to address urgent needs caused by drought, flooding, and conflict, ensuring the inclusion of vulnerable populations.
Key Takeaways
- 33.3 million USD allocated for humanitarian aid in Somalia.
- Targeted interventions in underserved regions.
- 58 humanitarian partners engaged in immediate response.
- Focus on women and children in project support.
- Critical funding gap of $242.4 million identified.
Mogadishu, Jan 21 (NationPress) The United Nations (UN) relief agency announced on Tuesday a significant allocation of 33.3 million US dollars aimed at providing essential humanitarian support in Somalia for the year 2024.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) indicated that these funds, sourced from the Somalia Humanitarian Fund (SHF), will primarily target life-saving interventions in underserved and difficult-to-access regions.
With the allocated funds, 58 humanitarian partners are poised to respond swiftly to expected flooding, the dire effects of drought, and the imperative to bolster safety, security, and coordination measures.
The OCHA elaborated that the SHF has strategically allocated resources through three reserve allocations and one standard allocation, complemented by three Central Emergency Response Fund disbursements totaling 10 million dollars. This funding is critical for addressing the cholera outbreak, urgent displacement responses, and mitigating the effects of anticipated below-average rainfall and La Nina conditions.
According to the OCHA, the 25-million-dollar standard allocation has pioneered the Integrated Response Framework, implementing multi-sectoral interventions designed to avert an escalation in humanitarian needs.
Furthermore, the initiative ensures the inclusion of women, girls, and individuals with disabilities in every funding allocation, with 90 percent of projects contributing to various dimensions of gender equality, as reported by Xinhua.
The SHF is a multi-donor, country-based pooled fund, created to facilitate the timely allocation and distribution of donor resources to meet the most pressing humanitarian imperatives.
Earlier in the month, the World Food Programme (WFP) revealed a requirement of $254.7 million in net funding to bolster humanitarian efforts in Somalia through May, with approximately 5.98 million people anticipated to require aid by that time.
"The humanitarian landscape remains dire due to expected poor rainfall, increasingly dry conditions, and ongoing armed conflict," the WFP stated in its humanitarian report, noting a critical funding gap of $242.4 million for life-saving humanitarian relief and nutritional support.
Currently, 4.4 million individuals in Somalia, nearly a quarter of the population, face acute food insecurity, while an additional 1.6 million children under five are projected to experience acute malnutrition from August 2024 to July 2025.
In collaboration with other United Nations agencies, the WFP is urgently appealing for additional funding to scale up humanitarian and resilience initiatives to counter the impacts of the expected drought in Somalia, worsened by funding shortages, unfavorable rainfall predictions, ongoing security issues, and rising food prices.
The WFP report highlighted that conflict has caused 476,000 new internal displacements in 2024, accounting for 52 percent of the total, with climate-related events contributing to most of the remaining displacements.
"These recurrent displacements and ongoing climate challenges are straining the coping mechanisms and resilience of millions of Somalis," the report concluded.
