UN agencies, partners appeal for $116mln assistance to Somali refugees in Ethiopia

Addis Ababa, March 22, 2023 (FBC) – Various UN agencies and partner organizations today appealed for US$116 million to provide life-saving assistance to Somali refugees seeking safety in an extremely remote area of Ethiopia’s Somali region.

Since hostilities erupted last month in the city of Laascaanood, in the Sool region, Somalia, hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced within Somalia, and close to 100,000 are estimated to have crossed the border into Ethiopia, it was stated.

The joint press release by UNHCR, other UN agencies, and partner organizations notes that most of the new arrivals in Ethiopia are women, children, older people and people with specific needs.

The statement indicates that the humanitarian situation on the ground is dire, pointing out that with moderate acute malnutrition observed in many children under five and in pregnant and nursing mothers. There is a high risk of disease outbreaks, with worrying reports of measles cases in the area.

“The Ethiopian Government and local communities have generously welcomed the refugees, extending any help they can, but with the continuing arrivals, resources are already severely overstretched,” said Clementine Nkweta-Salami, UNHCR’s Regional Director for the East and Horn of Africa and Great Lakes Region. “We need additional funding to ramp up delivery of aid and address the acute and growing humanitarian needs.”

The funds will help provide urgently needed shelter and relief items, such as blankets, mats, and mosquito nets. Food will also be provided to all families in need through monthly general food distributions, the statement mentions.

“This influx of refugees is happening at the worst time possible, in an extremely remote area of Ethiopia’s Somali region which is also one of the most severely hit by the worst drought in 60 years,” said Michael Dunford, WFP’s Regional Director for East Africa. “To save lives, we need funding now.”

Ethiopia already hosted 884,000 refugees and asylum-seekers, it is mentioned.

As refugees continue to flee, UN agencies, therefore, urgently appealed to the international community to swiftly mobilize sufficient resources to allow aid agencies to continue to support the Ethiopian government to provide a coordinated, effective and life-saving response.

The organizations launching the appeal include UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, the World Food Programme (WFP), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), UN Population Fund (UNFPA), the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and non-governmental organizations GOAL, Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), Organization for Sustainable Development (OSD) and OWS Development Funds (OWS-DF).