MOGADISHU — The African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) has reaffirmed its commitment to fulfilling its mandate in supporting Somalia’s path to peace and stability. Mohammed El-Amine Souef, special representative of the African Union (AU) Commission Chairperson for Somalia and head of ATMIS, said the AU mission will work …
Read More »Somalia battles hunger as it braces for famine during a prolonged drought
MOGADISHU — Somalia typically gets two rainy seasons per year. The first, called the Gu rains, usually start in late March or April and last until June. The second round of rains, known as the Deyr, generally produce less precipitation and arrive in October or November. But Somalia’s last four …
Read More »Somali deputy prime minister meets with CPS to discuss climate change & peace
MOGADISHU — A delegation led by Somali Deputy Prime Minister Salah Jama is attending the 10th Summit of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States (OACPS) in Angola’s capital Luanda. The Summit began on the 6th of December and is expected to conclude on Saturday. At least 79 Member …
Read More »UN refugee agency: Drought, conflict displaces over 2.4 mln in Somalia in 2 years
MOGADISHU — Severe drought and conflict have caused more than 2.4 million displacements in Somalia since the start of 2021, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on Friday. The UN refugee agency said the ravaging drought is attributed to 1.3 million displaced people in search of food, …
Read More »Mogadishu youth volunteers join hands to clean up litter in beaches
MOGADISHU — Abdifatah Hared can often be found on Somalia’s beaches leading groups of young volunteers in green T-shirts emblazoned with the words “Greenwatch Trust’. They spend hours picking up the rubbish scattered all over the sand, polluting the Indian Ocean and ruining the beauty of Somalia’s coastline, which at …
Read More »Somalia praises UAE for its relief efforts in the country
DUBAI — Abdul Rahman Abdul Shakour, Somalia’s special envoy for the President for Humanitarian Affairs and Drought, praised the UAE on Wednesday for its relief efforts in the drought-stricken country. “The UAE is a pioneer in providing the necessary support to Somalia in this crisis, as it was the first …
Read More »UNICEF appeals for 1 bln USD to help children in Horn of Africa in 2023
GENEVA — The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on Monday launched a one-billion-U.S.-dollar emergency funding appeal to reach millions of children in the Horn of Africa region in 2023. UNICEF said it revised its emergency life-saving appeal across Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia from 879 million dollars in September to one billion …
Read More »UN: Conditions deteriorate for Somalis refugee in Kenya
GENEVA — The U.N. refugee agency warns humanitarian conditions are deteriorating for tens of thousands of Somalis in Kenya’s Dadaab refugee camps as unrelenting drought grips the Horn of Africa and funding dries up. More than 80,000 Somalis fleeing conflict and drought have arrived in Kenya’s Dadaab refugee camps over …
Read More »More than 100 Somali students graduate from University for Peace in Mogadishu
MOGADISHU — Somalia’s pool of academic skills deepened recently with the conferring of a range of postgraduate degrees to 166 students – including the country’s president. The event brought together 29 women and 137 men to a venue in the Somali capital of Mogadishu for a graduation ceremony from the …
Read More »How Somali girls with disabilities are overcoming barriers to education
For most of 17-year-old Katra’s* life, school has been a distant dream. Born with a physical disability that impacted her legs, Katra wasn’t allowed to leave her family home in Burao, Somaliland because of the stigma around disability in her community. That meant no trips to the market, no visits …
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Somali Observatory for Humanitarian Affairs It is a specialized, independent, non-profit media network that observes and follows up the Somali humanitarian scene