GALKAYO (SoOHA) – Three months ago, Mukhtar Qassim Ali moved his family out of a squalid IDP camp on the outskirts of Galkayo to a decent rented house that he can afford now that he is working as an electrician. Mukhtar, 27, was among 25 young people trained over a …
Read More »Kenya plans to close world’s biggest refugee camp Dadaab
NAIROBI (SoOHA) – Kenya plans to shutter the world’s largest refugee camp, home to nearly a quarter of a million people, in the next few months, according to an internal UN document seen by AFP on Tuesday. The three-decade-old Dadaab camp in eastern Kenya, which shelters mostly Somalis, would be closed …
Read More »Somalia kicks off four-day, countrywide polio immunization campaign
MOGADISHU (SoOHA) – Somalia kicked off a countrywide polio campaign yesterday, as part of ongoing efforts to sustain polio immunity and protection in response to the outbreaks of two strains of poliovirus currently circulating. The campaign, which runs from 24-27 March 2019, aims to reach as many as possible of …
Read More »Regional experts meet in Uganda over refugee self-reliance
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 …
Read More »Children living in conflicts are 3x more likely to die from water-related diseases than from violence
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. …
Read More »Drought to worsen in east Africa amid calls for concerted efforts: IGAD
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,” …
Read More »EU funded programme to benefit over 56,000 students in Puntland
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 …
Read More »EU, FAO launch sustainable water and land use project in Puntland
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 …
Read More »Poor rains, persisting drought deepens crisis in Somaliland
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 …
Read More »Deaf children to access special education in Kismayo in new move
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 …
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Somali Observatory for Humanitarian Affairs The Voice of Reality.. The Eye of Humanitarian Truth in Somalia