The United Kingdom has committed an additional $34.2M package of humanitarian support to Somalia.
UK’s International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt told an audience of global donors today that while swift action last year saved thousands of lives and held-off famine in Somalia.
At an event co-hosted by the Department for International Development (DFID), the Federal Republic of Somalia and the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the International Development Secretary praised the efforts of the international community in 2017 – but call for continued global support for the 5.4 million people in need living in Somalia.
Six years ago Somalia was ravaged by a deadly famine which killed 260,000 people – half of those who died were children.
“Last year the UK stood up and called for international action at a landmark conference to agree critical help for the people of Somalia. Together, we helped avert a famine and saved thousands of lives. But drought continues to haunt Somalia, where today half the population is hungry and at risk of disease. The job is not yet done†Mordaunt said at the International Safeguarding Summit
“Drought and famine do not have to go hand-in-hand. We must harness the potential of new ideas to build future-proof resilience against drought – and end the cycle of crisis†she said.
“We cannot let the world forget Somalia. It’s not just the right thing to do – we are all less safe when hunger and poverty are free to feed extremism and mass irregular migration†she warned.
The emergency package announced by the International Development Secretary is to get urgently needed medical, nutritional, health and livelihood support to the country, including to 54,000 children who will be treated for Severe Acute Malnutrition.
The package will be distributed before the end of March 2018, to ensure urgent delivery of these life-saving services.
