Donors on a mission
Nairobi-– A multi-donor mission led by Dennis McNamara, UN
Special Adviser to the Emergency Relief Coordinator, arrived in Nairobi on
20 May 2006 and travelled into Somalia to meet with long-term internally
displaced, as well as those displaced more recently by conflict and
drought. One of the most complex challenges in strife-torn Somalia is to
ensure the delivery of humanitarian assistance and protection to the
estimated 370,000-400,000 most vulnerable internally displaced.
The mission, in Somalia from 22 to 26 May, is also looking at ways to
enhance the humanitarian response - and meeting with civil society and
authorities to discuss internal displacement issues related to a lack of
basic social services, land re-allocation and policy development; as well
as examining internal displacement developments since Mr. McNamara’s last
visit to Somalia in December 2004.
Somalia remains one of the most desperate and complex humanitarian
situations in the world. Since 1991, the lack of an effective central
government has led to the destruction of public infrastructure and the
internally displaced have become the country’s poorest and most vulnerable
community; exposed to daily discrimination, exploitation and physical
violence among other abuses. Once displaced and separated from their
traditional support mechanisms, including their clan base, the internally
displaced often end up living in congested makeshift settlements made of
cardboard, plastic sheeting or branches, with little sanitation or water
supply and minimal access to any kind of basic social services or
employment opportunities.
In early 2006, Somali livelihoods became increasingly stressed and
disrupted by the effects of the worst drought in a decade. Many households
were forced to move to areas where water and food was available or
abandoned their homes altogether. In May, the most recent round of fighting
in Mogadishu has also caused an estimated 7,000 people to temporarily
abandon their homes and move to safer areas.
This ten-day mission follows Mr McNamara’s first visit to Somalia in
December 2004 when he visited internally displaced settlements and met with
the authorities.