Feb 23, 2015 - Despite improvements in the food security situation in Somalia1, ... In its continuing support to the hum
Somalia Common Humanitarian Fund Update 23 February 2015
Common Humanitarian Fund US$30 million allocation kick starts aid operations in 2015 Despite improvements in the food security situation in Somalia1, an estimated 731,000 people in Somalia will remain acutely food insecure until mid-2015. An additional 2.3 million face the risk of slipping into the same situation, bringing the number of people in need to 3 million. Without new and sustained funding, the progress brought about by the relatively good October-December rains, improved flow of goods and services and reprogrammed humanitarian assistance, could be reversed. The Somalia Common Humanitarian Fund’s (CHF) allocation of $30 million in early 2015 will help jumpstart the massive response required. Though defined in December 2014, the strategic focus of this allocation to provide support to people in crisis and emergency remains valid and compatible with the recently released post-Deyr assessment findings. Notable among these are internally displaced people who make up 76 per cent of those in acute food insecurity and have the most alarming malnutrition rates. Their inadequate access to basic services further renders them highly vulnerable to disease outbreaks, exploitation, and abuse. Half the funds allocated will support projects targeting the internally displaced people in seven urban settlements where conditions are most critical. The targeted settlements include Dhobley, Dhusamareeb, Doolow, Gaalkacyo, Garowe, Kismayo, and Mogadishu which are among those prioritised for nutrition programming by the recent Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit (FSNAU) and Famine Early Warning System Network (FEWSNET) assessment. The CHF emphasis on integrated programming will ensure that nutrition projects to address acute malnutrition rates are complemented by activities in health and water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) to reduce elevated morbidity and mortality levels. This holistic approach will be replicated in southern and central Somalia for six vulnerable communities in new areas with increased access and for three communities with highest vulnerabilities in food security, health, nutrition, and WASH. In its continuing support to the humanitarian community’s efforts to address protection concerns, the CHF allocated $6 million to education, protection and shelter projects to enhance the protective environment for internally displaced people and host community women and children who are the most vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. Although CHF funds constitute just 3.5 per cent of the $863 million required by the humanitarian community for 2015, its availability early in the year prior to the flow of other funding streams can initiate requisite supply pipelines and allow crucial programmes that started in 2014 to continue. However, the worrisome outlook for 2015 underscores the need to maintain the levels of assistance to prevent a deterioration of the humanitarian situation.
The Common Humanitarian Fund is a country-based humanitarian pooled fund set up in 2010 and managed by UNOCHA on behalf of the Humanitarian Coordinator to provide quick, predictable and strategic funding to UN agencies, international and local NGOs working in Somalia. The Central Emergency Response Fund is a global pooled humanitarian fund set up in 2005 to enable more timely and reliable humanitarian assistance to people affected by armed conflicts and natural disasters. It is funded by voluntary contributions from UN Member States, NGOs, local government, the private sector and individual donors, and is managed by UNOCHA.
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January, 2015;Technical Release,Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit (FSNAU), Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWSNET)and partners www.unocha.org The mission of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is to mobilize and coordinate effective and principled humanitarian action in partnership with national and international actors. Coordination Saves Lives
