Conflict in Somalia in depth

The humanitarian situation in Somalia is deteriorating at an alarming rate. Oxfam International and other NGOs are concerned that a major catastrophe is unfolding.

In March 2008, Oxfam joined 42 other agencies in urging the international community and all parties to the conflict to urgently focus their attention on the catastrophic humanitarian situation and address the environment of impunity in Somalia. They warned that a lack of security was preventing them from meeting humanitarian needs.

Since the start of 2007, when the Council of Islamic Courts was ousted from Mogadishu, the humanitarian situation has worsened. Some 745,000 people have been forced from their homes in Mogadishu, often seeking refuge in areas to which aid agencies have little or no access and to communities already experiencing acute food and water shortages.

There are now one million internally displaced people in Somalia and two million people in need of humanitarian assistance. Approximately one in seven children under the age of five in Somalia is acutely malnourished.

Food prices are at record highs and people’s ability to earn an income is severely diminished.  Those left in Mogadishu are surviving on as little as six cents per day.

Somalia is considered one of the most dangerous places on earth to work. Insecurity and the targeting of aid workers and their supplies severely limit agencies’ ability to deliver assistance to those in desperate need.

Despite this, Oxfam is working with local Somali partner organizations to provide vital assistance to half a million people across South and Central Somalia.

We are currently running the largest emergency water response in the region, providing water to over 180,000 people who have fled the recent fighting in Mogadishu. We are also supporting a pioneering program to deliver hot meals to more than 50,000 people in the capital every day.

As well as providing essential relief items such as plastic sheeting, jerry cans and soap, Oxfam provides cash to internally displaced people and the host communities to which they have fled to promote sustainable livelihoods.

We are working with local Somali partners to equip them with the skills and experience they need to make a positive contribution to their own country’s future.

Oxfam also engages in advocacy work, calling for all parties in the conflict to fulfill their responsibility to protect civilians and to ensure access to those in need. Our fear is that the absence of a political solution and the prevailing culture of impunity will only lead to a worsening of the situation.