By Farah Bashir Recurrent and protracted displacement has been a major problem in Somalia. An estimated millions of Somalis are internally displaced due to climate-induced disasters and conflict. Mogadishu, Baidoa, and Kismayo have the highest IDP populations and returnee concentrations. These locations are key destinations due to their relative peace …
Read More »Somalia is changing. The humanitarian system must as well
By: Dustin Barter, Mohamed Yarrow, and Albashir Ibrahim Somalia is gripped by outdated aid systems built upon an old narrative that its crises are intractable. The country is forging a path to greater stability and better governance. Much work remains – yet it’s often the humanitarian system that stands in the way …
Read More »Towards a healthier future: Somalia’s new food safety policy
By Mohamed Omar Nur Food is a daily necessity. Each day, we eat and share meals with our family and friends. Food provides us with many essential benefits: it alleviates hunger, provides nutrition, supports growth and facilitates cultural exchange and economic trade. However, all these benefits depend on food safety. …
Read More »Urgent humanitarian needs and long-term human capital development in Somalia: Where is the balance?
By Dr. Adam Aw Hirsi Summary: Somalia faces the challenge of balancing immediate humanitarian needs with long-term investments in human capital to achieve sustainable development. Managing the delicate balance between addressing immediate humanitarian needs and making long-term investments in human capital for sustainable development in Somalia is particularly complex due …
Read More »FGM is on the rise in Africa: disturbing new trends are driving up the numbers
By Tamsin Bradley Thirteen-year-old Salamatu Jalloh had her whole future to look forward to. But in January 2023, her lifeless body was found wrapped in a pink and blue shroud on an earthen floor in a village in north-west Sierra Leone. Salamatu and two other girls bled to death after …
Read More »Droughts don’t need to result in famine: Ethiopia and Somalia show what makes the difference
By Joshua Busby The Horn of Africa is facing its worst drought in 40 years. Scientists suspect that a multi-year La Niña cycle has been amplified by climate change to prolong dry and hot conditions. After multiple failed harvests and amid high global food prices, the Horn is confronted with a severe food security …
Read More »Famine should not exist in 2022, yet Somalia faces its worst yet. Wealthy countries, pay your dues
By Joshua Hallwright More than a quarter of a million people died of hunger in Somalia in 2011 – half of them children younger than five. The situation in Somalia in the coming months could be a great deal worse, despite global commitments to never let the 2011 famine happen again. The United Nations predicts more than …
Read More »Somalia on the brink of famine: aid efforts risk failing marginalised communities yet again
By Nisar Majid Somalia is facing a humanitarian crisis of enormous severity and magnitude. This follows four failed rainy seasons, protracted conflict, political instability and the impact of rising global food prices – the latter made significantly worse by the war in Ukraine and the disruption to global food and fuel markets. …
Read More »No time for complacency: Somalia’s unfolding famine catastrophe
By Mukesh Kapila Somalia is on the brink of catastrophe. A recent assessment suggests that 7.7 million Somalis need emergency aid right now, a similar number to those affected by the Ethiopian famine in 1984, one of the worst humanitarian disasters in history. About one million people died then. The warnings have been coming for some …
Read More »Somalia & Covid: how we used satellite data to track the toll of the pandemic
By Abdihamid Warsame While the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has been well documented in high-income countries, much less is known about its impact on low-income and conflict-affected countries where there are significant challenges in information generation and dissemination. Somalia is one of these countries. It has been battered by …
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Somali Observatory for Humanitarian Affairs The Voice of Reality.. The Eye of Humanitarian Truth in Somalia