Figures from UNHCR, the United Nations Refugee Agency, and the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) show that the conflict was one of the main causes of displacement between 1 January and 10 May of this year. At the same time, more than 408,000 people were displaced by the floods that swept through their villages and 312,000 others were displaced by the drought that ravaged them.
Conflict has been one of the main causes of displacement. At the same time, more than 408,000 people were displaced by floods and another 312,000 by drought.
Most of them fled to the areas of Hiraan in central Somalia and Gedo in the south of the country.
“It is a great tragedy to see the impact on the most vulnerable in Somalia. They are the least responsible for the conflict and climate crisis, but they are the hardest hit,” said UNHCR Representative in Somalia, Magatte Guissé, in a statement.
Many of those forced to flee are arriving in overcrowded urban areas and sites already hosting internally displaced people, putting a strain on already overburdened resources. According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), this exposes vulnerable people to increasing risks “such as deportations, family separation and gender-based violence.”
More than 3.8 million IDPs in Somalia
“These are alarming figures about some of the most vulnerable people who have been forced to give up what little they have to move into the unknown,” said Mohamed Abdi, National Director for Somalia of the Norwegian Refugee Council.
With one million displaced people already in less than five months, we can only fear the worst for the coming months, as all the ingredients of this disaster are boiling in Somalia,” he said.
More than 3.8 million people are currently displaced in Somalia, worsening an already dire humanitarian situation where some 6.7 million people are struggling to meet their food needs. More than half a million Somali children suffer from severe malnutrition.
Yet aid agencies have so far received only 22% of the resources needed to provide much-needed assistance this year.
“The humanitarian needs in Somalia continue to grow. We are working with humanitarian agencies to respond as well as possible, but with the new displacement increasing every day, the needs are overwhelming,” added the UNHCR Representative in Somalia.
The UN agency urges international donors to increase their funding to better protect those most at risk of the current crisis.
“Otherwise we will never see the end of this ongoing human tragedy,” concluded Magatte Guissé, noting that food, shelter and protection services, including the protection of children and the prevention of gender-based violence, are among the urgent needs of the population.
