MOGADISHU — The Somali government Wednesday made an urgent humanitarian appeal to the international community, seeking help to battle a severe drought in most parts of the Horn of Africa country. The call came after the government held a humanitarian conference in the capital Mogadishu on Wednesday that was opened …
Read More »Somalia receives 336,500 more doses of J&J COVID-19 vaccine
MOGADISHU — Somalia received an additional 336,500 doses of the Johnson and Johnson (J&J) COVID-19 vaccine on Sunday through the COVAX facility. This was the second batch of J&J vaccine doses donated by the United States to Somalia to expand COVID-19 vaccination coverage in the country. The first batch of …
Read More »WFP warns 3 mln more now ‘teetering on edge of famine’
ROME — The UN World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Monday that the number of people teetering on the edge of famine in 43 countries, has risen to 45 million – up by three million this year – as acute hunger spikes around the world. This number has risen from …
Read More »AU trains Jubaland officials to combat the recruitment of child soldiers
KISMAYO — The Protection Human Rights and Gender (PHRG) Cluster of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) have concluded a five-day training of trainers’ course has concluded in Kismayo, Jubaland State, on the prevention and response to the recruitment and use of child soldiers in armed conflict. The training …
Read More »AMISOM and Gov’t of Italy begin construction of a 68-bed hospital facility for SNA
MOGADISHU — The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) with sponsorship from the Government of Italy, has commenced constructing a 68-bed health facility for soldiers and officers of the Somali National Army (SNA). The construction of the SNA hospital is being implemented under the Early Recovery and Stabilisation programme. Under …
Read More »Qatar Charity digs dozens of water wells in Somalia
MOGADISHU — Qatar Charity (QC) has started digging 27 wells in several regions of Somalia’s Hirshabelle State, and inaugurated an artesian water well in ‘Garasdheere’, a village in Hirshabelle, to benefit tens of thousands of families belonging to pastoral communities. The project is part of Qatar Charity’s efforts to respond …
Read More »Somali trader shot dead in South Africa
CAPETOWN — A South African gunman shot dead a Somali businessman in South Africa on Saturday night. The victim was identified as Abdinasir Mohamud Abdi, and the assailants fled the scene. Abdi was shot and killed outside his business in Mitchells Plain, a suburb of Cape Town. Following the killing …
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 …
Read More »UN ‘alarmed’ as Somalia fighting displaces 100,000
MOGADISHU — The UN warned Tuesday of severe humanitarian problems in central Somalia after 100,000 people were displaced by fighting between pro-government forces and Sufi militants. Fighters loyal to Ahlu Sunna Wal Jamaa (ASWJ) occupied the strategic town of Guricel earlier this month, before being driven out last week by …
Read More »Dozens killed in fighting in Galmudug state
MOGADISHU — At least 30 people died and over 100 were injured in intensified fighting between the Somali National Army and its former ally Ahlu Sunnah Wal Jama’a (ASWJ) in the Somali state of Galmudug over the weekend, residents and hospital officials said. The clashes, in the state’s second-largest district …
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Somali Observatory for Humanitarian Affairs The Voice of Reality.. The Eye of Humanitarian Truth in Somalia