10 March 2010
The UK will provide humanitarian aid to help Somalia provide emergency food, clean water and medicine for 3.2 million people, International Development Secretary, Douglas Alexander announced today.
Mr Alexander made the announcement as he met Somali President Sheikh Sharif Ahmed in London to discuss Britain's aid programme in Somalia.
£7.5 million in UKaid will be channelled through the UN Humanitarian Response Fund, UNICEF and the International Committee of the Red Cross to help deliver emergency food for hundreds of thousands of malnourished children and provide lifesaving water supplies.
The UK also announced £5.8 million for a new programme to help promote peace and stability in the region by supporting reconciliation and local peace building initiatives between clans and communities.
Local authorities in Somalia will work with communities to identify what services they need most urgently. This could include constructing new water wells, roads, markets, health centres or toilets.
The funding will also support civil society groups to ensure that the government is held to account and delivers on its pledges to its people.
The Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia will have a crucial role to play in managing the move towards a new and more stable form of government. The UK will assist the TFG to help them deliver a political transition by August 2011, including building the expertise of the civil service and drafting key laws.
International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander said:
"Instability and poverty in Somalia are a threat to the well-being of the Somali people and to international peace and security. "That is why we are providing vital emergency aid in the form of food and water, as well as taking steps to create a safer and more stable Somalia. "Somalia remains one of the most difficult and a dangerous place in the world to deliver aid. With 40 per cent of the population in need of emergency aid and over 1.5 million people forced to leave their homes, we need other donors to come forward and support the aid effort in Somalia"
"Instability and poverty in Somalia are a threat to the well-being of the Somali people and to international peace and security.
"That is why we are providing vital emergency aid in the form of food and water, as well as taking steps to create a safer and more stable Somalia.
"Somalia remains one of the most difficult and a dangerous place in the world to deliver aid. With 40 per cent of the population in need of emergency aid and over 1.5 million people forced to leave their homes, we need other donors to come forward and support the aid effort in Somalia"
UKaid has already reached over 1.2m people in Somalia this year. This includes providing a basic package of immunisations and vitamin A to 144,000 children under-five. It has also helped treat 120,000 children for acute malnutrition, and provided safe drinking water for 300,000 people.
The United Nations is reporting more than 1.5 million people have had to flee their homes due to the security situation. Over 3 million people, or 40 per cent of the population, need emergency aid - the largest proportion of any country in the world.
Bookmark with:
What are Bookmarks?
