Somalia still suffering despite arrival of rain

Children waiting for food during a distribution by the ICRC and the Somali Red Crescent at Aw Dheegle, Bas Shabelle region. ICRC/P. Yazdi By Mark Snelling, British Red Cross A good start to this year&${esc.hash}39;s first rainy season in Somalia has provided some respite from the severe hardships of recent months, but the consequences of the drought and an escalation in armed conflict present vast humanitarian challenges. While the country can expect an acceptable harvest in mid-July following healthy rainfall across many areas, hundreds of thousands of people are struggling to cope having exhausted their reserves of food, livestock and household possessions. As many as 400,000 have fled their homes. "For sure the rain has given us some hope," said Nurto Omar, a 27-year-old widow living in a camp for the displaced in the town of Brava in southern Lower Shebelle region, some 150 km south of Mogadishu. "But we still have nothing to go back to, we have lost everything." The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) launched an emergency response operation targeting about one million people in February following the failure of the last two rainy seasons - the so-called deyr, which runs from October to December and the gu, from April to July. According to the latest report by the U.N. and U.S.-funded Somalia Rain Watch, most drought-affected areas in southern Somalia have been receiving above-normal gu rains since late April. In addition, central regions as well as parts of the northeast and northwest have received good rains, which have replenished underground water reservoirs. For many, however, it will make little difference. COMPLEX NEEDS The ICRC drought response - carried out in collaboration with volunteers of the Somali Red Crescent Society (SRCS) and funding from the British Red Cross - included the distribution of food, seeds and household items, together with water and sanitation projects and a livestock support programme. The operation focused on drought-affected areas across central and southern Somalia, particularly regions neighbouring Kenya and Ethiopia, where traditional cross-border movements of pastoralists and their herds were disrupted by the lack of viable pasture. "The Red Cross support came at the right time," said Farah Mohamad Idow, who lives in the village of Marian Gubay in Lower Shebelle. The region, which lies between the Juba and Shebelle rivers, was not the worst hit by the drought, but has had to accommodate about 20,000 people who have fled their homes from neighbouring areas. "If you receive guests, you have to help them," he said. "But our crops have failed too. We share what we have, but there is only so much we can cope with." One more round of distributions is scheduled before the next harvest in July. Red Cross officials say that if the rainy season continues without interruption, food deliveries will then cease so as not to destabilise local grain markets. Until then, however, many farmers will remain without food and many pastoralists will not find the income to replenish their decimated herds. CONSTANT VIOLENCE "You have to put the drought in the context of the complete lack of infrastructure caused by 15 years of conflict," said Dr Ahmed Hassan, president of the Somali Red Crescent Society (SRCS). "Whether it rains or not in Somalia is just one factor among many underlying problems." Although a temporary ceasefire has now been declared, tensions in Mogadishu between Islamic militias and a coalition of powerful warlords have unleashed some of the worst clashes in the capital in a decade. Banditry and looting still prevails across the country. "We have to look at the longer-term perspective. For me, our operations are about the provision of some of these vital services," said Hassan. The ICRC is waiting until mid-June to confirm that the rains have been adequate before formally reverting to its regular operations, which include support for two hospitals in Mogadishu as well as Livelihood Support Programs and the rehabilitation of water points across the centre and the south of the country. "The emergency phase of our operation is now ending," said Pascal Hundt, head of the ICRC&${esc.hash}39;s Somalia delegation. "Now that the rains have started, we are seeing an evolution of the situation into a recovery and rehabilitation operation." "The drought response was timely and multi-faceted but we must now adapt our response to the ongoing needs of ordinary Somalis," said Hundt. Anyone familiar with Somalia will agree that for the foreseeable future, these needs will remain massive and urgent. To read Mark&${esc.hash}39;s Somalia blog, click here.

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