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Somalia - Complex Emergency Fact Sheet #6, Fiscal Year (FY) 2010

Attachments

U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
BUREAU FOR DEMOCRACY, CONFLICT, AND HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE (DCHA)
OFFICE OF U.S. FOREIGN DISASTER ASSISTANCE (OFDA)

Note: The last situation report was dated May 14, 2010.

BACKGROUND

Since 1991, widespread violence, endemic poverty, recurrent droughts, and floods have generated a complex emergency in Somalia. From December 2006 to January 2009, fighting between the Somalia Transitional Federal Government (TFG), backed by Ethiopian forces, and armed militias opposed to the TFG led to further deterioration in humanitarian conditions. Following January 2009 Ethiopian troop withdrawals, conflict between armed militia groups in Somalia continues to displace populations and limit access to affected areas. As a result, more than 594,000 Somali refugees have fled the country, and approximately 1.4 million internally displaced persons (IDPs), including long-term IDPs and individuals displaced by increased fighting since February 2007, remain uprooted within Somalia.

On January 29, 2010, the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit (FSNAU) reported that more than 3.2 million people would require humanitarian assistance in Somalia through June 2010, representing a 9 percent decrease since July 2009. The January to June 2010 estimate includes 580,000 urban poor, nearly 1.25 million individuals residing in rural areas, and approximately 1.4 million IDPs. The combined effects of consecutive seasons of failed or poor rainfall, conflict, rising inflation, displacement, and diarrheal disease outbreaks have severely exacerbated food insecurity and resulted in a significant increase in acute malnutrition rates. U.N. and partner agencies are coordinating efforts to improve humanitarian access, but insecurity and targeted attacks against relief staff hinder the provision of emergency assistance to affected populations.

On October 1, 2009, U.S. Ambassador to Kenya Michael E. Ranneberger renewed the disaster declaration for the complex emergency in Somalia for FY 2010. USAID/OFDA staff continue to monitor humanitarian conditions and respond to the needs of affected populations in Somalia.