Sporadic,
below average rains and persistent drought since 2016 sees an estimated
1.7 million people in critical need of humanitarian assistance in
Somaliland, a figure ballooning by hundreds of thousands in recent
months. Communal water resources are drying up at an alarming rate,
forcing communities to truck in water that they can’t afford, and
triggering appeals by Somaliland and Puntland authorities.
“The warning signs are all negative. Famine was averted in 2016
because of a rapid, large-scale response. Resources and action must
again be forthcoming, prioritized for women and children, who are the
most vulnerable,” explains Amjad Ali, Oxfam’s Country Director in
Somalia and Somaliland.
Below average rainfall in late 2018 provided scant relief, as most
communities remain unable to rebuild livestock herds to utilize the very
limited new pasture. Vulnerabilities were further exacerbated by the
devastation of Cyclone Sagar in mid-2018 that killed an estimated 80
percent of livestock in affected areas and decimated the few
agricultural crops Somaliland grows. Coastal areas, Togdheer, Sool and
Sanaag are the regions hardest hit.
Through an existing response in these regions, Oxfam has been
closely monitoring the situation, deciding it is now time to raise the
alarm.
“The decision to declare an emerging crisis is not taken lightly, as
we are wary of donor fatigue, but the situation is bleak. As existing
humanitarian support was scheduled to scale down, we are seeing a
humanitarian cliff before our eyes. We must not walk blindly over the
edge,” said Ali.
Water and food availability are not the only concerns, as fears are
growing of communicable diseases spreading due to deteriorating water
quality, where weary communities have little resilience for cholera and
other outbreaks that can quickly become a death warrant.
Across Somaliland and Somalia, an estimated 4.9 million people are
food insecure and 2.6 million internally displaced, of a population
estimated at 14-15 million. The 2019 Humanitarian Response Plan is only
6.4 percent funded, leaving a gaping hole. Resources are urgently needed
to avert catastrophe.
In 2018, Oxfam reached over 375,000 people with humanitarian
assistance in Sool, Sanaag, Toghdeer, Awdal and Nugal, regions at the
centre of the emerging crisis. This included rehabilitation of water
points, emergency water trucking, latrine construction and multi-purpose
cash grants.
Oxfam’s response is still ongoing but is unable to meet the rapidly growing needs.