NAIROBI – The UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is seeking for 753 million dollars to help address humanitarian needs in Somalia in 2014.
The Office said in a report on Thursday that humanitarians needed urgent and sustained funding to save lives and strengthen the resilience of vulnerable people to shocks.
OCHA added that “funding for Somalia in 2014 is critically low.
“A total of 933 million dollars is required to meet humanitarian needs for 2014, of which, only 19 per cent has been funded.’’
The OCHA warned that Somalia’s fragile humanitarian situation was at risk of sliding back into emergency.
Meanwhile, a report said more than 857,000 people, most of them displaced, were in need of urgent life-saving assistance.
Early warnings had indicated that the combination of delayed rains from April to June, a disrupted planting season and rising food prices in areas affected by military offensive, could further worsen the humanitarian situation in the country.
The UN humanitarian agency said that the number of people in need may further increase if the rainy season was further delayed.
It added that plans were on to enhance resilience of vulnerable households and communities through investments that enhanced the productivity of livelihood. (Xinhua/NAN)
