Thousands displaced by severe drought and conflict
Drought Update
The current drought situation
continues to cause displacement, particularly of the Pastoralist communities in
various parts of the country. Since December 2010, UNHCR estimates that more
than 50,000 people have been displaced countrywide due to drought. In response
to the conflict and drought, the Inter-Cluster Working Group (ICWG) prepared a
comprehensive contingency plan for drought and conflict in south central
regions.
The estimates show that if the fighting should continue for the forthcoming months, over 150,000 new displacements may occur (84,000 due to conflict and 57,000 due to the drought). It is also anticipated that 200,000 IDPs displaced in Afgooye (outside the Mogadishu corridor) may return to Mogadishu due to internal fighting.
With drought spreading
to the all regions of Somalia, officials and aid workers have expressed concern
for those affected. "Drought and the ongoing conflict are the main reasons
for new displacement figures rising in Somalia," SAFETY Foundation for
Development representatives said. "More than 254,000 people have been
displaced due to 
drought since December 2010 until now (April 2011), with many
of them moving to urban areas in search of assistance."
"Although migration of people and livestock is not unusual during the dry
season, this appears to be the first time ever pastoralists and their livestock
have migrated into the cities, a situation that portrays the severity of the
drought situation in the country," SAFETY team representatives said.
Central Somalia is at the epicentre of what local officials have declared as the worst drought the region has seen in 30 years. Gedo in the southwest, parts of southern regions and the semi-autonomous region of Puntland, as well as central Somali regions are the worst affected, according to team reports.
The team reported after field visits that families are losing the little they own, with drought forcing many pastoralists into IDP camps: "They have lost everything and they think they may get help if they reach the camps."
In the Mudug and
Galgudud regions of central Somalia, the team have reported four deaths
following an outbreak of diarrhoea. Hussein Ali Mohamed, Head of the Health Post
in the Adado district said all the four deaths - a man and three children -
occurred in the past week.
"The district was one of the few places that enjoyed the Deyr (short rains);
the people from central regions such as Sanag, Sool, Togdheer in Somaliland and
even from the whole of Puntland share a common deadly enemy: prolonged severe
droughts."
Mr. Mohamed Aden Mohamed, the director of the organization,
has called for humanitarian access to support Somalis affected by drought as
villagers are living in precarious conditions, lacking water, food supplies and
nourishment for their animals.
"I am extremely concerned about the impact of the current drought on the well-being of children, women and the general population in Somalia," he said in a statement."Severe water shortages require collective efforts and further cooperation at all levels to deliver a well-coordinated response to mitigate the consequences of the drought on the lives of the Somali population." The TFG spokesman Mr. Gobdon could not address the situation alone and appealed to the international community for assistance. "The problem with this drought is how long it has been going on," he said. Gu rains should have started in most parts of the country. Gobdon said: "In a good year, it should be raining by now, but we have not seen a drop yet." The team leader has appealed for support.
The biggest problem so far is presented by water shortages; water is trucked from a distance of minimum 165km and its price keeps rising, as a barrel [200litres] of water used to cost $10 a month ago and now it costs $15." For the impoverished people living in Somali villages and towns, this is very expensive.
Other issues brought on by severe drought
Acute Water Diarrhoea (AWD) Update
WHO noted a steady increase in
the number of AWD cases admitted in the Banadir Hospital in Mogadishu. Between
18th-25th March, 136 cases were treated including 112
children less than 5 years of age, of who three died. This represents a 37%
increase from the previous week when 85 cases were reported including 75
children, with four related deaths. Out of 80 samples taken for laboratory
confirmation, five tested positive for cholera.
The team says one of the reasons for a sharp increase in AWD cases could be the congestion in IDP settlements in Mogadishu; another factor could be the scarcity of water due to the drought leading to consumption of water from contaminated sources.
The onset of the rainy season is likely to enhance transmission of AWD. Two trainings for AWD case detection, management and control were conducted in Baidoa, Bay region and Xudur, Bakool region. Diarrhoea clinical kits were given to Marka and Qoryooley hospitals in Lower Shebelle region.
Aid appeal
Mrs. Hindia Jim' ale Kassim, the team supervisor,
said: "There is a need for mobile health-sector teams giving nutritional food
to malnourished children in the regions severely affected by the drought (Sool,
Sanag, Sahel, Galgudud, Bari, Hiran, Gedo, Bay, and Bakool etc).
The team met with women and children in a camp for newly displaced people and witnessed the impact of a deepening drought on malnutrition rates among children and the elderly.
SAFETY Executive Director Noor Sheikh Abdullahi met with displaced women and children who were fleeing from the current ongoing conflict and deepening drought conditions which raised malnutrition rates among young children. The director showed concern at the deteriorating condition and urged to address food security as the main issue.
The malnutrition rate is at its peak
"The drought is deepening, political conflicts continue and this will
have an impact to the most vulnerable including children women and the
elderly," the Executive said 
during his visit to the new displacement camp
in Mandera, where thousands of people were newly displaced during the current
ongoing political conflicts in Belet-Hawa last march 2011.
SAFETY has unveiled new control and monitoring tools in Somalia to enable it to better target the most vulnerable and ensure that life-saving assistance reaches them. The team witnessed how beneficiaries who depend on WFP food distribution are coping and if they don't receive the full ration they should receive, the situation could deteriorate.
Speaking after watching children under five in the camp being weighed and measured to detect acute or severe acute malnutrition before they and their families receive WFP food, Sheeran said: "We're screening their nutritional status. WFP aims to assist a total of 1.5 million people in Somalia this year and is appealing for the resources to do so."
The fighting in Mogadishu, Gedo
and parts of the Lower Juba regions continued to impact on civilians with
approximately 43,500 displaced in March due to both conflict and drought. Our concern is
that children were involved as fighters in Belet-Hawo and a significant number
of them were killed. Limited access to basic food commodities and increased
food prices in the conflict areas continued to place many people in shaky
situations.
On 1st April, a Food Security Alert warned by the team that the likely poor performance of the Gu' (April-June) rains in Somalia is expected to result in a further deterioration in the food security situation. More than 50,000 people have been displaced due to drought since December, last year. Emergency contingency planning, including new response strategies, have been called to address current and expected food deficits and malnutrition.
A comprehensive contingency plan for south central regions was developed in response to conflict and drought scenarios with working figures of approximately 205,500 new displacements (125,300) due to conflict as fighting continues and 80,200 due to the drought. The total requirement for the additional needs is estimated at US$17.25 million, including the food commodities and the Shelter Cluster, which has a deficit of 6,897 Non-Food Item (NFI) kits.
