Hiiraan Online
Tuesday, February 23, 2016
ISTANBUL (HOL) – A global forum aimed at shoring up the humanitarian aid for the war-racked horn of Africa nation open in Istanbul Tuesday with the country’s political stakeholders and donors among the attendants.
This year’s sixth round of the High Level Partnership Forum on Somalia will focus on the country’s main humanitarian needs where a large number of the country’s population – in need of an emergency humanitarian aid.
This year’s forum comes at a time the country is gearing up towards hold presidential elections with the incumbent president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud is among the presidential candidates running for the country’s highest position.
Turkish president Raccep Tayyeb Erdogan who delivered the opening speech has urged the international community to help Somalia on the humanitarian needs.
Representatives from the Somali government including president Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, the United Nations and key donor countries are among the attendants.
According to the United Nations’ Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit (FSNAU), the number of acutely food-insecure people may increase from the current 1 million unless humanitarian assistance is significantly scaled up between now and the end of the year.
Areas currently experiencing acute food insecurity in southern and central Somalia are also the same areas where the number of people in crisis and emergency is likely to increase.