Decades of conflict, persistently high levels of poverty, and natural disasters have all taken a toll on the Somali population.  Currently, some 43 percent of Somalis live on less than US$1per day, and 73 percent on less than US$ 2 per day.  Somalia was ranked 161st out of 163 countries in the 2001 UN Human Development Report.  Only 16 percent of primary-school-aged children in South/Central Somalia are in school, and 22 percent of children die in the first five years of their life.  Much of the public infrastructure was destroyed in the early 1990s, social services collapsed, livelihoods were disrupted, and large numbers of people were displaced.  Despite this, Somali resilience has led to civil society, NGOs, religious groups, and the private sector maintaining some services such as education, health, and water in some parts of the country.  Though these services fall well short of what is needed, and many of them do not reach the poor, the situation would have been even worse without them.  Moreover, Somali ingenuity, together with large remittances from the Somali diaspora, have been instrumental in creating new private sector initiatives and preventing even deeper poverty.

Why is Medair working in Somalia?

In January 2008, FSAU (Food Security Analysis Unit for Somalia) estimated that between 1.8 and 2 million people in Somalia are in need of humanitarian assistance and livelihood support. The Shabelle regions remain the worst affected regions in the current humanitarian crisis, with more than 325,000 agriculturalists and agro-pastoralists in states of Humanitarian Emergency or Acute Food and Livelihood Crisis. Although there will be limited and temporary relief for some communities due to good rain-fed cereal crop production in some areas, the total production of the two regions is significantly below normal. The nutrition situation is also still critical, with rates of global acute malnutrition above emergency thresholds. Continuing insecurity and inflation over the next few months can only lead to further deteriorations in the crisis.

Where inSomalia is Medair working?

Medair will focus its activities in the areas accessible from Jowhar town centre, primarily in the Jowhar and Cadale Districts. In Jowhar, Medair is planning a water and sanitation (WatSan) and hygiene promotion programme to complement existing health care activities, while undertaking additional health, nutrition, and WatSan assessments of rural areas without humanitarian assistance. In the more remote Cadale District, Medair is planning an integrated program of health, WatSan, and hygiene promotion to be implemented in partnership with a longstanding local partner.

The complexity and insecurity of the crisis is a major obstacle to a new actor, such as Medair, entering into South/Central Somalia. Within the Middle Shabelle region, Jowhar provides a relatively stable location as a viable point of entry, while the potential partnerships with local NGOs in Jowhar and Cadale will facilitate the implementation of Medair programmes . While there are some international and local NGOs operating in the Jowhar and neighbouring districts, there are many gaps and large areas, including Cadale, Run Nirgod, and Adan Yaabal, with few or no NGOs operating.

What are the core issues that Medair is aiming to address?

There is a high level of humanitarian need in all sectors throughout South/Central Somalia. Medair plans to address the following core issues:

• Only nine percent of the rural population in South/Central Somalia have access to basic water and sanitation.
• Large numbers of displaced people from Mogadishu are stretching the coping mechanisms of host populations who are already affected by droughts, floods, and local insecurity. Deteriorating economic and security in Mogadishu continues, with more and more people displaced to the surrounding Shabelle regions and beyond.
• The maternal morbidity in Somalia is among the highest in the world.
• Extremely high rates of malnutrition, child mortality and morbidity, and population movement indicate a humanitarian crisis is affecting approximately 1.5 million people in South/Central Somalia.

The Shabelle regions, generally some of the most resilient regions and the “bread basket” in Southern Somalia, are reeling from the impact of multiple shocks, including the lowest cereal crop production in a decade (44 percent of post-war average) due to below normal Gu season rains and damaged irrigation infrastructure; sharp rates of inflation in food and non-food items (40% to 60% increases in last three months); disruptions in trade and economic activities; a high and increasing concentration of displaced population fleeing from Mogadishu; deteriorating health conditions following an Acute Watery Diarrhoea (AWD) outbreak; and continuing and escalating civil insecurity.

How is Medair addressing the problem?

Medair plans to implement complementary and integrated programs to address all the factors contributing to poor health. Provision of basic health care, referral, and transport to the Jowhar hospital for urgent care, provision of clean water, and substantial health and hygiene education are all important components of an integrated approach. In time, Medair will develop an emergency response capacity to address critical needs as they emerge in the Middle Shabelle region and beyond.

Who is Medair assisting ?

The Health Services and WatSan programmes will ensure that IDPs and host and rural populations have access to good quality health care in the district. Special attention through Mother and Child Health (MCH) and reproductive health services will be given to women and children.

Presence of Medair in Somalia

Medair had a one-year programme in Somalia from 1993 to 1994, with three field bases in the northeast. 
Project activities at each location were as follows: 

• Caluula: water, hospital and clinic rehabilitation, and immunisation campaign
• Galcaio: clinic rehabilitation, mother & child healthcare, Traditional Birth Attendant (TBA) programme, and immunisation campaign
• Qandala: immunisation campaign during the winter

Medair exited Somalia in 1994 when the projects were completed.

In March 2008, Medair began its new Somalia programme in the Middle Shabelle region.

Facts and figures:

• The population of Cadale district is estimated at 46,720 (UNHCR 2005)
• The population of Middle Shabelle Region is estimated at 545,400 (UNDP 2005)

FSAU Food Security and Nutrition Post Gu’07

© 2008 Medair   Privacy Policy