About OCHA Somalia
OCHA has mobilized and coordinated humanitarian efforts in Somalia since 1999. The humanitarian crisis in Somalia remains significant and OCHA aims to ensure a well-coordinated, effective and principled inter-agency humanitarian response. By providing a coherent approach to humanitarian action in Somalia, OCHA helps to avoid duplication of aid response and maximizes resources.
Somalia is slowly emerging from more than two decades of civil war. However, humanitarian needs remain vast and Somalia's humanitarian crisis remains among the largest and most complex in the world. After two years of incremental improvements following the devastating famine in 2011, a lethal mix of drought, surging food prices, increasing malnutrition, insecurity and slow funding has plunged the humanitarian situation into significant decline.
About 3.2 million people are in need of life-saving or livelihood support. Inadequate basic social services continue to undermine the resilience of the people. Coping capacities are severely stretched and vulnerable families are left with limited to no coping mechanisms and risk being pushed further into destitution and relying on humanitarian assistance. An estimated 635,000 displaced people in settlements need support to meet basic minimum standards including education, health, shelter and water, sanitation and hygiene. Malnutrition rates also remain among the highest in the world, with 218,000 children under the age of five acutely malnourished; about 43,800 children are so malnourished they risk dying.
The fragile humanitarian situation is against a backdrop of abject poverty. Coverage, quality and access to basic social services in the country remain extremely low. Only one in three Somalis has access to safe water; one in every 10 Somali children die before seeing their first birthday; one in 18 women die in childbirth; the majority of displaced people live in sub-standard shelter.
OCHA Somalia field presence
Access to parts of Somalia remains a key challenge due to insecurity. Despite this, OCHA Somalia continues to evolve to reflect the humanitarian and operating landscape in Somalia and has offices in Mogadishu and seven larger towns throughout the country, and an office in Nairobi, Kenya.
OCHA Somalia structure
OCHA Somalia comprises five substantive units: coordination, information management, communications, funding and administration.
In line with OCHA's mission statement, OCHA Somalia mobilizes and coordinates effective and principled humanitarian action in partnership with national and international actors to:
- Alleviate human suffering in complex emergencies;
- Promote preparedness and prevention efforts to reduce future vulnerability.
Funding to OCHA Somalia
|Requirements for 2014||10,706,526|
Canada (Canada MFA)
European Commission (DG-ECHO)
United Kingdom (DFID)
United States (US-USAID-OFDA)
|Opening Balance **||1,360,317|
|Total (Contributions + Opening Balance) ***||5,978,998|
|* In 2014 OCHA received unearmarked contributions from the following donors: Australia (DFAT), Austria, Belgium, Canada (CIDA), Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Japan, Korea, Republic of (Korea), Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand (NZAID), Norway, Poland, Private Donations (Private), Russian Federation, Singapore, Sweden (Sida), Switzerland (DEZA), United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom (DFID), United States (USA-PRM), United States (US-State-IO)|
|** May include unearmarked and earmarked funding with implementation dates beyond the calendar year|
|*** Excludes miscellaneous income (e.g. adjustments, gain/losses on exchange rate etc.)|