United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is currently on a solidarity visit to Somalia, to mark the month of Ramadan, a country where a full-blown famine threatens, following a drought that has already claimed in excess of 40 000 lives.
Guterres has called on the international community to mobilise much-needed support for the war and climate affected Horn of Africa nation both on the security front and in order to build conditions towards resilience and development. The UN Chief warned that while some 8.3 million Somalis require urgent humanitarian assistance, only 15% of the 2.6-billion-dollar Somalia Response Plan has been funded.
Guterres’ visit to Somalia forms part of an annual tradition by the UNSG to carry out solidarity visits to Muslim countries during the Holy Month of Ramadan, meeting with President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, where the focus has been to draw global attention to the country’s dire humanitarian situation. I am also here to ring the alarm on the need of massive international support, massive international support because of the humanitarian difficulties the country is facing, massive humanitarian support in relation to the build-up of a security capacity of Somalia and massive humanitarian support in stabilization and development of the country.
He travelled to a camp for internally displaced persons near Baidoa, the largest city in Somalia’s South-west State, where he came face to face with locals directly affected by the country’s acute humanitarian crisis.
“It is time for the international community to mobilise much more support, support for the Somalis to guarantee the security of their people and fight terrorism, support for the Somalis to solve the humanitarian drama that we can witness in a camp like this one. And support to the Somalis in creating the conditions to build the resilience of their population and to create a path of development for the people of Somalia. In the holy month of Ramadan, we need to have generosity from the international community that is absolutely crucial to rescue these people that I’ve seen in this camp, and that live in such dramatic circumstances.”
Somalia embodies Ramadan’s timeless message of renewal and hope.
In these challenging times, I commend the energy and resilience of its people.
The @UN and I stand in solidarity with you. pic.twitter.com/LGgLm0RfKo
— António Guterres (@antonioguterres) April 12, 2023
After five consecutive failed rainy seasons, the drought has displaced almost one and half million people, with women and children accounting for up to 80% of that total.
“Although Somalis make virtually no contribution to climate change, the Somalis are among the greatest victims. Nearly five million people are experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity. And of course, rising prices make matters worse. So, I call on donors and I call on the international community to step up their support.”
While on the security front, reports that a major government offensive has captured about a third of territory controlled by the Al-Shabaab terrorist group.
The government claimed last month that more than 3 000 Al-Shabaab fighters had been killed since it launched the offensive last August but counter attacks continue to strike at civilian, political, and military targets, while a UN report to the Security Council in February found that the increase in casualties made 2022 the deadliest year for civilians in Somalia since 2017.
Source: eNCA
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