LAS ANOD — Eight months into a conflict between armed forces of the breakaway state of Somaliland and local Dhulbahante militias in Las Anod, Somalia, hospitals in the embattled city are desperately working to maintain lifesaving supplies. Although the conflict has been effectively reduced to a deadlock, with neither the …
Read More »Somalia: Urgent action needed to tackle cholera across Horn of Africa
Cholera outbreaks are occurring with increasing frequency, and lasting for longer, across Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia. Tetiana Gaviuk, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) communications manager questions, why the death toll from this preventable disease is rising. Cholera is an acute bacterial infection caused by ingesting food or water contaminated with the …
Read More »Free language App builds Horn of Africa literacy
WASHINGTON — The Horn of Africa might be reeling under a myriad of challenges including drought, hunger, and poverty over the devastating impact of climate change, but a local charity is poised to help develop literacy skills in the Somali language to improve education in the region. Sahamiye Foundation is a …
Read More »Displaced Somalis complain about the high cost of living in Mogadishu
When people newly displaced by drought or conflict arrive in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu, they often begin by asking for assistance. “They’ll move around all the neighbours and collect items,” explains local businesswoman Habibo Ali Haji. “They’ll knock on each door and ask ‘do you have anything?’ and use what they …
Read More »Somalia needs $55.5 bln to recover from climatic shocks
MOGADISHU — Somalia needs $55.5 billion in investment and assistance in the next 10 years to be able to recover from climatic shocks. Mohamed Osman, an economic advisor to the Somali president said greater efforts are also needed for conflict-hit countries to access funds beyond the new proposed compensation deal. The package is …
Read More »Somalia drought: One boy’s fight to save his family from starvation
Eleven-year-old Dahir weaves his way between a growing cluster of homemade huts on the edge of Baidoa, heading to a tin-roofed school building near the main road. He is wearing his only shirt and trousers, and clutching his one other possession – a new schoolbook. The school’s sole teacher, Abdullah …
Read More »Somalia: 4 lessons from past experience of dealing with famine
Since 1990 the world’s famines have been classified as small – with the glaring exceptions of Somalia in 1991-92 and 2010-12. Now the UN’s World Food Programme says that nearly seven million Somalis face not being able to find enough food in the last months of 2022. Baidoa and Burhakaba …
Read More »Fartun Adan & her daughter Ilwad Elman win 2022 Right Livelihood Award
The Swedish-based NGO Right Livelihood on Thursday named Adan, Elman, and Kamugisha winners of the 2022 Right Livelihood Award for their courage in promoting human rights and peace. Adan and Elman are specifically awarded for promoting peace, demilitarization and human rights in Somalia in the face of terrorism and gender-based …
Read More »Catastrophic hunger levels leave 500K children at risk of dying in Somalia
A humanitarian catastrophe is imminent in Somalia and the Horn of Africa. That’s the joint assessment of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), following months of food security assessments. The number of people in dire need …
Read More »From Dadaab to Mogadishu: More refugees return to rebuild Somalia
In November 2016, when Abdullahi Ali Farah landed in the Somali port city of Kismayo after 22 years of living as a refugee in northeastern Kenya, he was afraid and hopeful at the same time. “I was excited about the freedom and prospect of finally returning to my motherland but …
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Somali Observatory for Humanitarian Affairs The Voice of Reality.. The Eye of Humanitarian Truth in Somalia