| UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA - AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER |
Action by Churches Together (ACT) Alert Somalia - 1/99 11 January 1999
Severe Drought leads to Food Crisis and Displacement
Prior to the holiday season, ACT members in Nairobi met and exchanged information on the situation in Somalia. At that time there were clear indications that there was a severe drought in Somalia as a result of the adverse climatic conditions during and following El Nino. It was noted that food production in the southern part of Somalia was 60% lower than last year resulting in displacement of people in search of food.
Two regions particularly affected are Bay and Bakol. Some internally displaced persons (IDPs) have been arriving in the Gedo region (where ACT/Norwegian Church Aid operates). ACT/NCA has already distributed 3 MT of rice, 400 kg sugar, 200 litres of cooking oil and 8 rolls of plastic sheeting to assist some 300 IDPs who are in the Burdhuob area.
Compounding the problems of drought has been the issue of insecurity, especially in the south. Around 50 people were killed on the east side of the Juba river in early December. Among those killed were ACT/Swedish Church Relief guards.
It was also noted that many people were suffering from disease as a result of the lack of food. It was estimated that there were around 500 - 600,000 persons affected by adverse conditions and who were receiving no help.
As a result of NCA and other international NGOs working in the area reporting the situation to the World Food Programme (WFP), more food has recently been delivered to the area. 50 MT maize and 40 MT lentils have been delivered to both Garbaharrey and Burdhubo Districts in the Gedo Region. However, in view of the severity, there is still a desperate need for emergency food relief.
ACT members in Nairobi and Somalia are continuously monitoring the situation and this office will keep the network informed on the developments.
An ACT Appeal may or may not follow this Alert.
Thank you for your kind attention.
For further information please contact:
ACT Co-ordinator, Miriam Lutz (phone ++41 22 791 6032 or mobile phone ++ 41 89 203 6055) or ACT Appeals Officer, Neville Pradhan (phone ++41 22 791 6035)
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Action by Churches Together (ACT) is a worldwide network of churches and their related agencies, meeting human need through co-ordinated emergency response. The ACT Coordinating Office is based with the World Council of Churches (WCC) and the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Switzerland. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Ecumenical Centre Phone: ++41-22-791.60.33 150, route de Ferney Fax: ++41-22-791.65.06 P.O. Box 2100 E-Mail: act@wcc-coe.org 1211 Geneva 2 Telex: 415 730 OIK CH Switzerland http://www.wcc-coe.org/act/
distributed by - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Volunteers in
Technical Assistance Disaster Information Center lists:
listproc@vita.org
sitreps nat-dsr web: www.vita.org appeal fireline
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
- - - - - - - - - - - - comments/suggestions/requests
to incident@vita.org
Date: Wed, 13 Jan 1999 16:23:56 -0300 (GMT+3) From: IRIN - Central and Eastern Africa <irininfo@ocha.unon.org> Subject: SOMALIA: Drought and displacement 1999.1.13
Editor: Dr. Ali B. Ali-Dinar, Ph.D
| Previous Menu | Home Page | What's New | Search | Country Specific |