UN humanitarians said on Thursday that skyrocketing needs in drought-stricken Somalia have forced a hike in the amount of relief to deliver over last January’s goal.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the 2022 Humanitarian Response Plan now targets 7.6 million people, a 40 percent increase since January.
“Donors have made generous contributions of just over 1 billion U.S. dollars so far this year, or 46 percent of the 2.26 billion dollars revised appeal,” the office said. “This has allowed us to reach about 6.5 million people across Somalia with some form of humanitarian assistance.”
OCHA said that with the worsening situation, an additional 1 billion dollars will be needed to deliver life-saving assistance by the end of December and into early next year. The office said funding arrived late this year and it hoped that will not be the case in 2023.
“As humanitarians focus on saving lives and averting famine, there is a critical need to invest in livelihoods, resilience, infrastructure development, climate adaptation and durable solutions,” OCHA said.
On Wednesday, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths released 10 million dollars from the world body’s Central Emergency Response Fund to speed up emergency aid in Somalia, suffering its worst drought in 40 years. (Xinhua)
