VETAID calls for more support for organisations working in Somalia
31 October 2007

VETAID, as part of the Somalia NGO Consortium, is calling for more support for aid organisations working in Somalia.

VETAID’s Somali Programme Co-ordinator, Hassan Mohammed Ali, states: “For nearly two decades, most of the people living in Somalia have been suppressed by a protracted conflict that has been taking different shapes over the course of time. However, damage caused by the renewed spate of violence in Mogadishu and the surrounding area at this time is unparalleled."

"The immediate effect of these actions is deprivation of fundamental human values and rights such as identity, dignity, freedom, and self-respect," he continues, "The long-term effect is much more devastating as the compounded trauma of deprivation and violence will result in chronic poverty that makes affected people more prone to conflict and less resistant to its adverse effects. This eventually leads to lack of participation in the decision-making processes, hence breeding a culture of violence and instability."

"The international community is, therefore, required to understand and respond better to the complex challenges of the conflict in order to transform fragile cease-fires into lasting peace settlements. This must be followed by a process of social, economic and psychological rebuilding for future sustainable development that also include rebuilding relationships, trust, and confidence between people in conflict as the only way to reliable and promising future."

Please find below the press release from the Somalia NGO Consortium:

Today, 40 International and National humanitarian agencies working in Somalia are highlighting the dramatic deterioration of the humanitarian situation in South Central Somalia and are calling on those with a responsibility to protect civilians to act now to save lives.

A dramatic increase in movement from Mogadishu has occurred in the past few days. This comes on the heels of an existing humanitarian crisis in which 1.5 million people in Somalia require humanitarian assistance.

Constrained access and deteriorating security is leaving International and National NGOs with little humanitarian space in which to operate in Somalia.

Given the severe security and access constraints, it is impossible to obtain more precise figures of the magnitude of the crisis. However, all indicators point to a deterioration of the, already dire, humanitarian situation.

Over 400,000 people fled violence and insecurity in Mogadishu earlier this year. After a relative lull, fighting between TFG/Ethiopian troops and anti-government forces violence has now increased again triggering another mass exodus from the city.

Ongoing violence and insecurity continues to severely exacerbate the, already dire, humanitarian crisis in the country.

In the past few days tens of thousands of people have fled renewed violence in Mogadishu. They have fled to areas that were already inundated with 1000’s of IDPs, to host communities whose coping capacities are already at breaking point and to areas in which there is little or no access by humanitarian agencies.

The humanitarian catastrophe unfolding is compounded by the fact that International and National NGOs cannot respond effectively to the crisis. This is due to access and security deteriorating dramatically at a time when needs are increasing at an alarming rate.

International and National NGOs are struggling to deliver assistance through Somali partners in IDP settlement areas, but are constrained by high levels of insecurity and other impediments (for example, harassment, intimidation, roadside bombs and landmines, checkpoints severely delaying access are increasing in number and prices to pass them are rising).

The international community and all parties to the present conflict have a responsibility to protect civilians, to allow the delivery of aid and to respect humanitarian space and the safety of humanitarian workers.

For more information on the Somalia NGO Consortium, please visit their website: http://www.somaliangoconsortium.org.

Notes:

VETAID has been working in Somaliland and Puntland since 1995. As well as ongoing development work in these areas, VETAID has also provided emergency assistance to internally displaced people (IDPs) in the south of the country, including restocking of livestock, and providing safe water sources for people who have been forced to flee their homes without any of their assets.

VETAID is planning to implement a programme in the south of Somalia to help internally displaced people (IDPs) settle in rural areas and resume farming. This will be done using the Dryland Agriculture Approach which we have developed over recent years. This approach combines livestock and crop production in ways appropriate to areas of low and erratic rainfall. This will be carried out in collaboration with established local NGO partners.

For more information, please contact Gail Wilson at VETAID on 0131 445 6231 or gail@vetaid.org

Find out more about our Somali projects.