YaxaaS Posted August 9, 2020 Somali Floods Displace Hundreds of Thousands, Raise Fears of Coronavirus Spread WWW.VOANEWS.COM Surging floodwaters in the southern regions of Somalia have driven more than 650,000 people to flee their homes this year. The U.N. refugee agency reports the flooding has caused food shortages, led to... Africa Somali Floods Displace Hundreds of Thousands, Raise Fears of Coronavirus Spread August 07, 2020 02:35 PM GENEVA - Surging floodwaters in the southern regions of Somalia have driven more than 650,000 people to flee their homes this year. The U.N. refugee agency reports the flooding has caused food shortages, led to the outbreak of killer diseases and increased the risk of the coronavirus spreading in the country. More than 150,000 flood victims have become homeless since late June, including 23,000 in the past week, according to officials. Weather forecasters warn the worst is not over. They predict the heavy rains and extreme flooding will continue for some time in certain regions and exacerbate the living conditions of the hundreds of thousands of displaced. U.N. refugee agency spokesman Charlie Yaxley reports many of the newly displaced are living in overcrowded, makeshift shelters with little protection from the harsh weather. He says families are exposed to increased risk of crimes such as robbery and rape. Food is in short supply and many are going hungry with rising malnutrition in children, leaving them at risk of starvation," he said. "Sanitary conditions are poor and access to medical care is scarce and health partners warn of a risk of diarrhea, vector-borne diseases, respiratory-tract infections and other communicable diseases rapidly spreading amongst the displaced population." Yaxley says there has been no reported major coronavirus outbreak, but he tells VOA the outlook is not good. He says people have little access to clean water, the cramped quarters prevent social distancing, and very little sanitation infrastructure is in place. "So conditions are ripe for transmission of viruses, including COVID-19, and it is exacerbated even further because in some areas, we are not able to access some of the affected communities. And some areas, particularly in the southern part, are controlled by armed groups and militias." Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
YaxaaS Posted August 9, 2020 Weather and war: How climate shocks are compounding Somalia’s problems WWW.THENEWHUMANITARIAN.ORG Somalia is on the front line of climate change. But with the weak state under constant attack from al-Shabab, action is way short of needs. Money going on other things In the aftermath of the 2016-2017 drought, the new federal government of President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed (Farmajo) – with the support of the EU, the UN, and the World Bank – put together a recovery and resilience framework to guide future policy. The principle finding of the “Somalia Drought Impact and Needs Assessment” was that Somalia is undergoing a climate emergency in which droughts, floods, and desertification are wreaking havoc on the country’s livestock and farming sectors, which have sustained people for centuries. Water, whether too little or too much, is at the heart of this crisis – and the UN has warned that the situation will worsen. The report recommended urgent water management initiatives to improve Somalia’s irrigation facilities. These included: better use of floodwater; and the rehabilitation and construction of water harvesting systems – typically used to capture and store rainwater. But since the publication of the report in April 2018, very few of those recommendations have been implemented. One big stumbling block is the lack of money. Somalia is one of the world’s poorest countries, with capital spending accounting for just three percent of total expenditure, according to the World Bank. The United States, the biggest bilateral donor, spends virtually all of its aid money on the emergency response and on the conflict, peace, and security sectors. Ongoing insurgency But that runs into a second major problem – the insecurity in the countryside as a result of al-Shabab, for whom rural development projects would be tempting targets. Al-Shabab remains a “formidable fighting force” despite years of operations against it by the African Union’s military intervention, known as AMISOM, and Western special forces, according to a June report by the International Crisis Group. “Today, you secure an area, but you’re not very sure that tomorrow it will be secure.” “The problem is the level of unpredictability,” AMISOM spokesman Charles Imbiakha told TNH. “Today, you secure an area, but you’re not very sure that tomorrow it will be secure. And that’s why those periodic attacks are still happening in Somalia.” Climate change in Somalia is increasingly a national security issue, according to a report released last month by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Displacement as a result of drought, and growing tensions between herders, farmers, and clans allow al-Shabab to exploit the “grievances of the population that stem from weather-related losses”, the report noted. As a result, “insurgent groups gain recruitment opportunities and [their] political narratives gain support”, it added. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
