PLATFORMS

MOGADISHU (SoOHA) – The Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) has warned that the displacement of families is on the rise due to conflict and drought in Somalia. “We are seeing a tragic trend this year, with more and more people displaced by drought and conflict in Somalia. Seeking aid to survive, …

KISMAYO (SoOHA) – For the first time in decades, Abdi Ahmed Ali and his family are living in their own modern house in Kismayo thanks to a resettlement project in southern Somalia. Abdi and the eight members of his family returned to Somalia from Kenya’s largest refugee camp Dadaab in …

LASANOD (SoOHA) – Somali wives in the northern region of Sool have been going to court to seek redress after being left to raise their children single-handedlyby husbands migrating to seek a better life overseas. According to the chairman of Lasanod court, Hassan Mohamed Warsame, 200 cases have been filed …

MOGADISHU (SoOHA) – Forty-five children suffering from acute malnutrition are being treated in Banadir Hospital after being brought from IDP camps in the Somali capital Mogadishu. Dr Aweys Olow Hassan, a pediatrician at Banadir hospital, said the children are mostly under five and in poor condition. “The children are from …

LASANOD (SoOHA) – A village in northern Somalia’s Sool region has banned the use and sale of plastic bags, imposing penalties for offenders. The local administration of Bo’ame village, around 70 km east of Lasanod, announced a ban on plastic bags on 5 March, according to assistant chief area, Ahmed …

BAIDOA (SoOHA) – Over 4,000 families displaced by drought have arrived in Baidoa town since the beginning of the year. The families, who were pastoralists and farmers, fled from Ufurow, Gof-gadud Shebelow, Hawen, Idale, Misir, Buray, Gof-gadud Burey, Mora-gabay, El-garas villages in districts bordering the South West state capital, Baidoa. …

DADAAB (SoOHA) – A team of young women and men living in Dadaab town in northeastern Kenya have set up a brick-making business that has started to take off.  Having struggled to earn a living, and coming from pastoralist backgrounds, they are now supporting their families and dreaming of expanding …

NAIROBI (SoOHA) – Do not force Somali refugees to return back home in volatile areas, the Human Rights Watch warned Kenya on Thursday as the country prepares to shut down world’s biggest refugee camp. “The move threatens the rights and safety of 250,000 people, mostly Somali refugees and asylum seekers, …

The aid agency Oxfam published a report this week warning that up to 1.7 million people in Somaliland are in critical need of humanitarian assistance.  This number has increased by hundreds of thousands in recent months. Radio Ergo correspondent Ilyas Abdi asked OXFAM’s head of communications in Somalia, Abdiaziz Ali …

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 …