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Somalia

Conflict in Somalia - 2008. Jan. 16.

Oxfam is extremely concerned that a humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding in Somalia and that the situation continues to deteriorate at an alarming rate.

The situation

88,000 people fled Mogadishu between 27-30 October (UNHCR figure). This number will almost definitely increase. People have fled to areas that were already inundated with thousands of displaced people, into host communities whose coping capacities are already at breaking point and to areas in which there is little or no access by humanitarian agencies.

Over 400,000 people fled violence and insecurity in Mogadishu earlier this year. After a relative lull, fighting between TFG/Ethiopian troops and anti-government forces has now increased again triggering another mass exodus from the city.

The UN estimates that 1.5 million people in Somalia require some form of humanitarian assistance. This is up 50 per cent since the beginning of 2007. Approximately one in seven children in South Central Somalia are ether malnourished or severely malnourished.

Ongoing violence and insecurity continues to severely exacerbate the already dire humanitarian crisis in the country. This most recent displacement will severely test the ability of the humanitarian community to respond effectively, given that efforts were already insufficient to meet needs. Lack of access and deteriorating security are happening at a time when needs are increasing at an alarming rate. As a result, NGOs are struggling to deliver assistance in the face of impediments such as harassment, intimidation, roadside bombs and landmines, checkpoints severely delaying access, and rising financial costs of movement.

Read the NGO Joint Statement

What Oxfam is Doing

Oxfam is working with several Somali partner agencies providing funding and technical assistance to allow them to deliver aid to tens of thousands of internally displaced people in the areas surrounding Mogadishu. We are providing emergency assistance including the delivery of water and sanitation, shelter, food and basic household necessities, and we offer psycho-social support for survivors of gender based violence and cash relief and cash-for-work programs.

In Somalia, conflict, drought and floods have created a chronic humanitarian crisis for many of its estimated 8 million people. While Oxfam has been working in the country since the mid 1960s, the agency now offers assistance through a network of local organizations that understand both the needs of the people and the dynamics of working in a country plagued by instability.