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Following is a list of projects and costs from the United Nations Consolidated Appeal for Somalia 2006. (see below entry for further details).

The 2006 Consolidated Appeal for Somalia seeks US$ 174,116,815 for 77 projects in the five sectors of Access and Security; Food Security and Livelihoods; Health, Nutrition, Water and Sanitation; Education; Protection and the three cross cutting sectors of Human Immuno-deficiency Virus/Acquired Immuno-deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDS); Return and Integration; and Capacity Building. 

Following is excerpt from the United Nations Consolidated Appeal for Somalia 2006.

After fourteen years of state collapse and widespread civil war, Somalia’s population of seven million faced renewed hope when the transitional parliament was formed in June 2004 and an interim President, Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, was subsequently elected in October 2004. The Transitional Federal Government (TFG) returned to Somalia in June 2005, but critical issues that would reflect political progress, linked to security, the interim seat of government and national reconciliation remained unresolved. Although the expectation was that the TFG was ‘a new dawn’ for the war-ravaged country, the outcome has been complex, with accompanying peace and stability still some way off. Even though the challenges are considerable, there remains no doubt that Somalia is at a crossroads as the TFG strives to gradually expand its authority throughout the country.
In 2006, United Nations (UN) agencies and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) intend to work closely with local authorities and communities, as outlined in the Common Humanitarian Action Plan (CHAP), toward the following three strategic goals:

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The Australian the Age online newspaper writes:   

Australia will give $5 million in urgent humanitarian aid to Kenya and Somalia, where starvation is threatening up to 4.5 million people. The federal government’s pledge, to be provided by its AusAID agency, comes as parts of east Africa face crippling drought and famine. A national disaster has been declared in Kenya, where the worst drought in more than 20 years has left 2.5 million people urgently needing food, according to United Nations reports. Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said drought had exacerbated hunger in Somalia, where the Indian Ocean tsunami and the hijacking of two food shipments had already taken their toll on a country dependent on subsistence farming. Mr. Downer said Australia would contribute $2 million to the World Food Program to provide emergency food aid to Kenya, while a further $1 million would go to Somalia. 

This is good news. However, I was hoping that the Australian Government would make much larger contribution to the international campaign to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in East Africa, particularly, in Somalia. Also, money “committed” does not always equal to actual money paid! The Age newpaper reported earlier that Kenya alone needs a minimum of US$ 300 million. Somalia with more people in food and livelihood crisis will need at least US$600-900 million within the next few months alone! In short, the funds offered by the Australian Government are like a drop of water in the sand. It will no do much good but it is still better than nothing.   

My hope is that the Australian Government will make additional contributions later on.

Click here to view the full article on The Age online.   

Once upon a time, there was a campaign for Somalia to be self-sufficient in food production! And now we are starving! Aduunyoy xaalkaa ba’!. Following are stamps from a bygone era! 

 

The South African Mail & Guardian Newspaper reports:

South African banking group Standard Bank has donated R1,2-million to help in the reconstruction of tsunami-ravaged Somalia. That country’s fishing industry was severely devastated by the tsunami that killed thousands and left a trail of destruction in Asia and parts of Africa in December 2004. The money will be used in the reconstruction of Somalia’s fishing sector. Standard Bank employees raised money to help the victims of the disaster and the bank pledged to match, rand-for-rand, the total sum raised by its employees. 

The paper quoted Tina Eboka, Standard Bank corporate affairs director as saying:

After consultations with the Department of Foreign Affairs, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation [FAO] and the Tsunami Disaster Fund South Africa, we decided to donate the money towards the reconstruction of the fisheries sector in north-eastern Somalia. (…)  As a result of the disaster, the livelihoods of communities in that coastal area were severely impacted. (…)The effort of Standard Bank and its employees will provide real relief to several distressed fishing communities in north-eastern Somalia.

The positive news keeps coming today.

Click here for the full article on the Mail & Guardian newspaper.

The Euro funding Mag reports:   

The European Commission has allocated further €5 million in an emergency humanitarian aid decision to strengthen the resilience of people living in areas of Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia affected by severe drought. The objective is to help improve the situation of up to 5.6 million vulnerable people, providing them with water, food and healthcare and protecting their livestock herds. So far, the Commission has allocated €73 million for drought-related interventions in response to the current crisis. It has a two-pronged approach involving the provision of relief assistance under the humanitarian aid budget (€12 million to date) and of support aimed at tackling the effects of the drought in the medium and longer term (€61 million). The latter involves financing mainly from the food aid/food security budget line and from the European Development Fund (EDF). The additional funding planned includes €9.6 million for Kenya, €10 million for Ethiopia, €9 million for Somalia and €11 million for a regional humanitarian aid programme to boost drought preparedness. A substantial proportion of these new resources will be earmarked to support the efforts of the World Food programme in the stricken regions.  

This is really good news. However, considering the magnitude of the food crisis in Somalia and elsewhere in the Horn of Africa, the money offered thus far is like a drop of water in the desert sand! It is too little to have any significant impact in alleviating the suffering of the Somali people. I hope more funding will follow suit not only from the European Union but also from the EU member countries as well as the Arab World and United States.

Click here for related information and other information resources on the Euro Funding Mag website. 

You may also like to click here to view a comprehensive Euro Funding Guidelines Booklet. 

According to the Relief Web;   

About 1.7 Somalis are facing either a humanitarian emergency or food and livelihood crises and need of urgent assistance, according to the findings of the recently concluded multi-agency seasonal assessment led by the FAO Food Security Analysis Unit (FSAU) in collaboration with FEWS NET. Moreover, the vulnerability of about 400,000 IDPS living in destitute camps in the main towns (mainly in the south) who derive their main livelihoods from menial jobs and social support will likely increase. Pastoral and agropastoral communities in Gedo, Middle and Lower Juba and Bakool Regions are the worst affected by the prevailing drought. Two consecutive seasons of crop failure in southern agricultural regions - the country’s breadbasket — have resulted in serious food shortages.   

I believe the numbers are higher; however, there are no reliable statistics in the country. The Somali Transitional Federal Government is paralyzed by the political squabbles of the warring Mogadishu warlords and a lack of economic and financial resources. It is a disgrace that the international community is looking blind eyes on Somalia. There are also too many ministers brought through the now infamous “4.5” tribal allocation of political positions who do not have any clue whatsoever about the duties entrusted upon them.  The fact is that very few of those ministers have made any contingency plans for the ministries they lead. For instance, the Minister of Agriculture; Xasan Maxamed Nuur (Shaatiguduud) whose responsibilities include food security is busy eating his mangoes under a cool shade of a tree while his countrymen and women are staving to death daily. I do not believe that he even understands what being a minister really means! 

What can I say? It is a sad state of affair! 

Click here to view to entire the entire report on the Relief Web. 

According to the UN News Wire:

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has appointed Kjell Magne Bondevik, former Prime Minister of Norway, as his new Special Humanitarian Envoy for the Horn of Africa, in response to recurrent drought and food insecurity devastating the region. More than 40 per cent of the population are currently undernourished in the Horn, one of the most food-insecure regions in the world. The Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that severe drought is threatening the lives of an estimated 11 million people across Somalia, Kenya, Djibouti and Ethiopia. This compounds what is already a dire humanitarian situation in countries beset by years of high rates of malnutrition and morbidity, chronic food insecurity and the effects of conflict. 

Time permitting, I will write more about this later this week but suffice it to say that I believe that the appointment of Mr. Bondevik as a “Special Humanitarian Envoy” for the draught devastated Somalia and the rest of Horn of Africa is the only sign of hope the starving people have received thus far! I believe Mr. Bondevik will bring in positive political weight and influence that will certainly be beneficial to the starving Somalis. More importantly, his proven track record of humanitarianism and a genuine care for those who are crying for help will have far greater positive impact than any other candidate could have ever mastered. In Short, I am not a big fan of Kofi Annan, but I must say that he did the right thing this time by appointing Mr. Bondevik for this position. 

I say: Velkommen Herr Bondevik! 

Click here to view the appointment announcement by the UN.

Damien Personnaz, Spokesman for the U.N. Children’s Fund was quoted as saying:   

When you have a combination of drought and lack of water, it increases the level of malnutrition which is already extremely high among the child population in the area and, therefore, we might expect some outbreaks of diseases such as waterborne diseases because the less water you have, the more danger there is to drink it. So, the children are getting very much affected. (…) And, we also fear a lot of outbreaks of measles. 

Mr. Personnaz went on by saying:   

What we are trying to do is to combine the fact that when the children are in school, they can be fed… by the World Food Program through feeding activities. Water can be given to them in an easy way. (…) Sanitation facilities can be slightly better than if they were living in the open air. It is again the right place for them to be if we want to boost immunization campaigns.   

Click here for the full article on VAO. 

Ann Veneman, executive director of UNICEF was quoted as saying:   

There is a potential for widespread disease, greater malnutrition and the displacement of significant numbers of people. (….) The international community must respond immediately to the need forassistance. 

Ms. Veneman continued by saying:   

The severe drought may not be receiving the same amount of attention as other emergencies. We must act now to save lives.

Click here to view the full article on the Basque News and Information Channel. 

Gezahegn Kebed; the Head of Oxfam Kenya was quoted saying:   

The implications of failing to step up the aid effort now will not just be starvation; it could also bring large scale conflict to the region. It’s not too late to avert the worst of this, but it soon will be. 

Click here for the full article by Deutsche Presse-Agentur. 

The South African Mail & Guardian Newspaper reports:   

At least one person was killed and seven others wounded in the Puntland region of Somalia on Monday as security forces clashed with hundreds of Muslims protesting the publication in Europe of cartoons of the prophet Muhammad, witnesses and police said.  Police in the semi-autonomous region’s town of Bossaso shot at demonstrators who were hurling stones at the offices of foreign aid agencies and the United Nations. 

The reaction in the Muslim countries is much stronger than originally anticipated. Indeed, it is the first time since the Oil Crisis in the seventies that there is a somewhat unified Arab/Muslim voice in the streets. However, the situation seems more violent! 

Click here to view the full article on the Mail & Guardian. 

The Guardian News paper says in its editorial today:

No newspaper in this country (UK) has published the Danish cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad in ways that have angered many Muslims across the world. The Guardian believes uncompromisingly in freedom of expression, but not in any duty to gratuitously offend. It would be senselessly provocative to reproduce a set of images, of no intrinsic value, which pander to the worst prejudices about Muslims. To directly associate the founder of one of the world’s three great monotheistic religions with terrorist violence - the unmistakable meaning of the most explicit of these cartoons - is wrong, even if the intention was satirical rather than blasphemous. Their most likely effect will be to encourage Islamist extremism, already finding fertile ground in Iraq.

Borrowing a phrase from the Guardian, I believe “uncompromisingly in freedom of expression”, however, I agree with the Guardian that freedom of expression cannot and should not be used as a cheap excuse to insult millions. (more…)

The BBC News reports: 

Kenya’s government is outraged by an offer of food aid from a New Zealand dog food manufacturer to help the 4m people hit by drought. But Christine Drummond told the BBC she could assure Kenyans that the nutritional supplement she was offering was “definitely not dog food”. It is “a high-powered food full of nutrients. It tastes yummy” she said. The minister co-ordinating the relief effort, John Munyes, told the AFP news agency the offer was in “bad taste”.

I saw the story reported on CNN International and I thought this must be a bad joke!

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Click here to view the full article on the BBC News.

Click here to view an index of the latest news dispatches on Somalia by the Foreign Press. You may also like to click here to view all blog stories about Somalia.  Ainashe.net will publish updates as they come available. So stay tuned.

Please note that the above Google search link is programmed to expire after few days.   

The Sydney Morning Herald featured story about a Somali teen-ager and says: 

In many respects, Mohamed is a typical teenager. He likes to drive the family car, regards the prospect of working in an office with dismay and his dad wants him to study harder. In many ways he also is a normal young cricketer. He wants to bat higher, reckons he ought to bowl more and thinks his captain is a dunderhead. He is different in only two regards. He is from Somalia. And he has one leg. 

The determination to success and perseverance of this young Somali man is admirable! 

Click here to view the full article on the SMH. 

Following is an statement made by  Ms. Annika Söder; State Secretary to the Minister for International Development Cooperation, Carin Jämtin on Somali parliament.   

It is a significant step in the Somali peace and reconciliation process that President Yusuf and Speaker of Parliament Sharif Hassan Sheikh Aden have now reached agreement that parliament will convene in Somalia on 26 February. The fragile Somali peace and reconciliation process has previously been blocked by different views within the transitional government and parliament as to where in Somalia work should begin. It is important, therefore, that the international community welcomes and supports the progress that a parliamentary meeting represents. 

You may like to click here for the original story on the Swedish Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ s Website.