Sunday, January 15, 2012
advertisements
The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Thursday it had suspended food distribution to 1.1 million people in central and southern Somalia after having its deliveries blocked in parts of the famine-hit country.The aid agency which has been providing emergency response to Somalia who are in urgent need said in a statement released in Nairobi on Thursday that the suspension will remain in force until their receive security assurance from local authorities of unhindered access.
"The suspension will continue until we receive assurances from the authorities controlling those areas that distributions can take place unimpeded and reach all those in need, as previously agreed," said Patrick Vial, the head of the ICRC delegation for Somalia.
According to UN, four million people need urgent humanitarian aid in Somalia alone, and close to 600,000 refugees have sought protection in Kenya.
The UN says humanitarian action has already had a significant impact in many regions of Somalia, and three areas of the country have moved from being "famine" areas to "emergency".
ICRC said since mid-December, however, local authorities in central and southern Somalia have blocked the delivery of food intended for 240,000 people in the Middle Shabelle and Galgaduud regions.
It said the food and seed were to be distributed to the people most affected by the combined effects of two decades of armed conflict and the severe drought that has gripped Somalia since October 2010.
"We are actively seeking the cooperation of the local authorities to restore conditions that will allow the resumption of the suspended activities as soon as possible," Vial said.
The ICRC which is one of the few organizations that have been providing humanitarian aid in those parts of Somalia said the distributions, which started in October 2011, have already benefited more than 1.1 million people despite major logistical constraints.
The ICRC said when the humanitarian situation dramatically worsened in the central and southern parts of the country in the first half of 2011, it decided to launch an emergency drought response operation.
"Since then, on the basis of needs assessments carried out by its staff on the ground, the ICRC has distributed food rations to more than a million people and has provided agricultural support for over 100,000 farmers," the agency said.
According to ICRC, the current emergency response includes not only the food and seed distributions but also the treatment of severely malnourished children, more than 170,000 of whom have benefited so far, and an expansion in the availability of health care in remote areas.
In addition to carrying out this emergency operation, the ICRC has maintained its long-term activities with the aim of helping people regain self-sufficiency by providing them with improved access to clean water, health care and other essentials of daily life.