KAMPALA (SoOHA) – Regional experts on Monday started a three-day meeting to devise means of improving the livelihood and self-reliance of refugees and host communities in eastern Africa. A joint statement by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), a regional body, and the Ugandan government said the meeting is attended …

NEW YORK (SoOHA) – Children under the age of 15 living in countries affected by protracted conflict are, on average, almost three times more likely to die from diarrhoeal diseases caused by a lack of safe water, sanitation and hygiene than by direct violence, UNICEF said in a new report today. …

NAIROBI (SoOHA) – The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) on Friday warned that drought will worsen in parts of Horn of Africa due to persisting dry conditions and unusually high temperatures. “In some parts of Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia persisting drought is affecting water availability, grazing pastures and food security,” …

GAROWE (SOHA) – Over 50,000 new students in Puntland are set to benefit from a European Union-funded programme in the next three years. The 7.3 million Euro Puntland Education Sector Support Programme launched in Garowe Tuesday will see over 56,000 students enrolled in schools within the state adding to over …

GAROWE (SoOHA) – Authorities in Puntland state can now be able to develop infrastructure for sustainable water and land use based on accurate and actionable data thanks to a newly launched project supported by the EU and FAO. The EU, Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) jointly with the Puntland government …

HARGEISA (SoOHA) – Sporadic, below average rains and persistent drought since 2016 sees an estimated 1.7 million people in critical need of humanitarian assistance in Somaliland, a figure ballooning by hundreds of thousands in recent months. Communal water resources are drying up at an alarming rate, forcing communities to truck …

KISMAYO (SOHA) – Two schools in the southern Somali town of Kismayo have opened educational facilities for deaf children, for the first time since the fall of the central government in 1991. Jubba and Fanole Primary and Secondary Schools have each allocated two newly built classrooms for deaf students. The …

ADAADO (SOHA) – Severe drought has forced dozens of families in central Somalia’s Mudug region to move away from their homes in search of water, after already losing thousands of goats. Following the failure of both rainy seasons – the gu’ and deyr – last year, 50 reservoirs that were the main source of …

This is quite a week to be in Nairobi for the UN Environment Assembly and the One Planet Summit. It is rare to turn on the car radio without hearing somebody yearning for the rains to come and water the crops wilting in the fields under a scorching sun. Further …

DADAAB (SOHA) – An eye surgery clinic carried out by a US-based Somali doctor and funded by a diaspora youth group has helped 300 Somali refugees living in the Dadaab refugee camps in northern Kenya to regain their sight. The clinic was organised by Dr Abdikadir Mohamed Mohamud, a medical …