U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
BUREAU FOR DEMOCRACY, CONFLICT, AND HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE (DCHA)
OFFICE OF U.S. FOREIGN DISASTER ASSISTANCE (OFDA)
SOMALIA - Complex Emergency/Drought
Situation Report #2, Fiscal Year (FY) 02    June 19, 2002


Note: the last situation report was dated November 14, 2001.

BACKGROUND

A complex emergency continues in Somalia for the eleventh consecutive
year.  Since the fall of Siad Barre's dictatorship in 1991, Somalia has
lacked a functioning and internationally recognized national government
and has suffered from inter-clan warfare.  Several regional
administrations have been established and a transitional national
government was created in September 2000, but in each case the extent of
authority has been limited or unstable.

Inter-clan conflict and the lack of a central authority has disrupted
markets, damaged or destroyed infrastructure, and prevented the delivery
of social services throughout much of Somalia.  Security issues have
complicated response efforts in southern and central Somalia, with
kidnappings, looting, and killings threatening both local and expatriate
humanitarian workers.  In addition, three consecutive years of
below-normal rainfall have produced drought conditions throughout most of
the country, with the worst effects in the southern and northeastern
areas.

Destitution among urban and pastoral groups, combined with ongoing
conflict in nearly all areas, has led to displacement within Somalia and
migration to Kenya, Ethiopia, Djibouti, and Yemen.  Many internally
displaced persons (IDPs) are located in or around urban areas, where
insecurity and strained coping mechanisms prevent sustainable recovery.

NUMBERS AT A GLANCE
SOURCE

Drought-affected and Conflict-affected
780,000
U.N. Consolidated Appeal for 2002

Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs)
350,000
U.N. Consolidated Appeal for 2002

Refugees
280,000
UNHCR


FY 2002 USAID/OFDA Assistance to Somalia to date   $3,848,623

FY 2002 USG Humanitarian Assistance to Somalia to date   $23,933,497



CURRENT SITUATION

Overview.  Insecurity in Gedo and northeastern regions has worsened the
humanitarian situation in Somalia, despite a generally improved rainfall
situation over the past three months.  Intense fighting in northern Gedo
region beginning in April has displaced at least 10,000 Somalis and forced
relief agencies to suspend most activities.  Conflict in the northeastern
regions of Bari and Nugal has periodically forced aid personnel to
evacuate, and there have been several killings and kidnappings of relief
workers in and near Mogadishu.  Other factors that have negatively
impacted the humanitarian situation in Somalia include the continued ban
on Somali livestock imports imposed by Saudi Arabia, the devaluation of
the Somali Shilling, and the decision of the U.S. Government (USG) to
freeze the assets of the largest cash facilitator in Somalia used to
transfer remittances from overseas.  These developments have eroded the
livelihoods and purchasing power of affected populations.

Situation in critical regions Gedo Region.  Intense conflict in April and
May has adversely affected the humanitarian situation in northern Gedo
region, which already suffered from some of the worst drought conditions
in Somalia.  Gedo has experienced three consecutive years of failed rains,
including poor rains in November-December 2001 that produced a secondary
harvest (January-February) in 2002 that was 80% below normal levels. Field
assessments by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and partner
agencies in January and February found extremely high malnutrition levels
in the northern districts of Gedo and, to a lesser extent, in adjacent
areas of Bay and Bakool regions.  Southern districts in Gedo region were
not as severely affected.  International relief agencies increased their
assistance activities in February and March to manage the crisis by
expanding health, nutrition, and water programs and food aid
distributions.

Clan-related conflict beginning in early April 2002 forced an estimated
10,000 Somalis to flee to Kenya and an undetermined number to flee into
Ethiopia, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR).  To date, approximately 5,000 refugees have returned to Gedo
region, leaving approximately 5,000 in Kenya.  On June 14, the Government
of Kenya authorized UNHCR to relocate the Somali refugees in Mandera to
the existing Dadaab refugee camp in northwest Kenya.  UNHCR announced that
it plans to begin relocation of the refugees on June 20.  An additional
3,000 -5,000 Somalis fled from Gedo region to Ethiopia.  No complete
assessment of the refugees in Ethiopia has been made to date.

The insecurity in Gedo region has forced the reduction or suspension of
relief efforts in the area.  CARE has postponed its monthly food aid
delivery indefinitely.  Action Contre la Faim/France (ACF/F) has suspended
its water program and reduced its nutrition program to essential
activities through local staff.

Northern regions.  The northern regions of Sool, Sanaag, and Bari are also
facing emergency conditions, although the overall situation is not as
alarming as in Gedo.  Several years of drought have gradually depleted the
water resources available for human and animal consumption in the plateau
areas of Sool, Sanaag, and Bari.  Very poor Deyr rains left many water
sources dry in December 2001, according to surveys by the Food Security
Assessment Unit (FSAU), a Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) program
that monitors the humanitarian situation in Somalia.  The primary rains
season began in late March and have begun to improve water availability
and livestock conditions, however overall water availability remains poor.

A new outbreak of fighting in early May has worsened the outlook for the
northeast.  Tensions between Jama Ali Jama, the elected leader of the
regional administration of Puntland, and Abdullahi Yusuf, his predecessor,
have escalated since September 2001.  Following a bout of fighting in
early May, Yusuf regained control of the area, including the port city of
Bossasso.  While the conflict has abated, the security situation remains
uncertain and access to certain areas is sporadic.

Saudi Arabia continues to enforce a ban on the import of Somali livestock.
The ban has eliminated a main source of income and has resulted in larger
herds consuming limited rangeland resources.  Livestock exports to the
United Arab Emirates and Yemen have resumed, however regional livestock
trade will remain below normal levels until Saudi Arabia, which normally
purchases 95% of Somali livestock exports, lifts its ban.


Situation by sector Food Security.

Food security conditions are tenuous but stable in most areas of Somalia,
except for the areas of Gedo and the northeast detailed above.  The
secondary rains of October-November 2001 produced above- average harvests
in most areas.  Local conditions vary, however, and pockets of Bay,
Bakool, and the Shabelle regions had poor harvests.  The primary rains
began in March 2002 and have been adequate in most areas of Somalia.  The
May FSAU Food Security Report describes improved pasture and livestock
conditions in the northwest, the northeast, and in parts of southern
Somalia.  Early crop planting indicate that Bay region will receive good
harvests, although the condition of crops in Bakool and Hiraan is less
certain.

The closure of the primary remittance bank has also weakened the food
security situation in Somalia.  On November 7, 2001, the USG-imposed
financial sanctions against the Al-Barakaat bank, the largest source of
remittance flows into Somalia.  Each year Somalia receives approximately
$500 million in remittances that reach half of the country's population,
according to the U.N. Development Program (UNDP).  Al-Barakaat conducted
half of the remittance transfers to southern Somalia, providing an
important source of alternative income for households affected by conflict
and drought.  The decrease in remittance flows has limited employment
opportunities and the availability of cash for poor urban groups,
according to FSAU, although the full impact of the bank closure is not yet
known.

Health and Nutrition.  Adequate rains in November and December stabilized
the nutrition situation in Bay, Bakool, and Hiraan regions by improving
access to food and water.  Though conditions are stable, they remain
tenuous, and recent nutrition surveys have identified pockets of high
malnutrition across the country.  The onset of good rains throughout
Somalia in late March and April may improve the nutrition situation,
however several seasons of good rainfall will be necessary for recovery to
continue.

The health situation in Somalia is also poor but stable.  A cholera
outbreak in April adversely affected 1,191 people in southern and
northeastern areas, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Cholera outbreaks often occur in Somalia at this time of year, and WHO,
UNICEF, ACF/F, and Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF)  have brought the
outbreak under control.  Informal assessments by FSAU in northeastern
districts reported that measles, acute respiratory infection, and diarrhea
are contributing to malnutrition among children.

Security.  The security situation in Somalia remains fluid.  Periodic
conflict in Gedo region and the northeast have adversely affected
humanitarian access, while threats to humanitarian workers have continued
in other areas.  In February, an expatriate relief worker was killed in
Merka, near Mogadishu, reportedly as the result of a personnel conflict.
A local relief worker in Mogadishu was kidnapped and held for several days
in March.  A senior UNDP staff member was kidnapped in Mogadishu from
April 28 until May 25.  The United Nations (U.N.) and international
non-governmental organizations (NGOs)  temporarily suspended all
operations in Mogadishu to protest the kidnapping.

In addition to the intense fighting and large-scale displacement in Gedo
region, skirmishes throughout the country continue to interrupt relief
activities and cause small-scale displacement.  A January 2002 U.N.
security assessment confirmed the risk to its operations and recommended
that the U.N. maintain its existing security measures.  However, pockets
of Somalia do remain calm, particularly in the northwest. UNICEF is
reopening its offices in Bossasso and Berbera, and is establishing a new
office in Kismayo.



USG HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE

Based on the ongoing conflict and continuing drought in Somalia, U.S.
Ambassador to Kenya Johnnie Carson re- declared a disaster for the complex
emergency in Somalia on December 7, 2001, and re-declared a disaster for
the drought on December 21, 2001.  The USG has provided $23,933,497 in
emergency humanitarian assistance for Somalia to date in FY 2002.  Of this
total, USAID/OFDA funding has totaled $3,848,623.

USAID/OFDA has provided $998,811 to International Medical Corps (IMC) for
emergency primary health care and specialized feeding to more than one
million beneficiaries in Bay, Bakool, and Hiraan regions.  The program
includes vaccinations and immunizations, nutritional monitoring, maternal
and child health programs, and emergency curative services.  USAID/OFDA
has provided $1,500,000 to UNICEF's U.N. Common Air Services (UNCAS) to
enable partner organizations to transport staff and supplies into Somalia.
USAID/OFDA has granted $347,696 to Action Contre le Faim/France (ACF/F) to
continue its water and sanitation program in Gedo region, repairing water
sources for an estimated 22,100 residents and conducting education on
human hygiene.  A $1,002,116 grant to the Adventist Development and Relief
Agency (ADRA) will support its water/sanitation program in Hiraan and
Bakool regions, benefiting approximately 53,100 people with improved water
sources and community sanitation education.  USAID/OFDA plans to provide
additional funding in FY 2002 to respond to the humanitarian situation in
Somalia.

In addition, a number of programs initiated by USAID/OFDA in FY 2001
continue to operate in Somalia.  These include a nutritional surveillance
system;  health and nutrition programs in southern, central, and
northeastern regions; animal health programs in the northeast;
water/sanitation programs in northeast and southern regions; and port
improvement activities in Bossasso and Berbera.  Detailed information on
these ongoing programs is available in USAID/OFDA's November 14, 2001
Somalia Complex Emergency/Drought Situation Report. During FY 2002,
USAID's Office of Food for Peace (USAID/FFP) has provided more than $16.8
million to date.  USAID/FFP has provided 7,800 metric tons (MT)  of P.L.
480 Title II emergency food commodities, valued at $3,704,900, to the
World Food Program's Protracted Relief and Rehabilitation Operation to
assist 700,000 people made vulnerable by the drought.  USAID/FFP also
provided 17,910 MT of P.L. 490 Title II emergency food commodities, valued
at more than $13 million, to CARE's emergency food program.  This program
supplies general and supplementary feeding in the most severely affected
areas of Gedo, and Food for Work in the regions of Bay, Bakool, and
Hiraan. The State Department's Bureau for Population, Refugees, and
Migration (State/PRM) has provided $3,218,974 for programs in Somalia, in
addition to $20,510,000 for Africa regional programs.



U.S. GOVERNMENT HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE TO SOMALIA

Agency
Implementing Partner
Sector
Regions
Amount
FY 2002

USAID   $20,714,523
USAID/OFDA   $3,848,623

ACF/F
Water/sanitation
Gedo
$347,696

ADRA
Water/sanitation
Hiraan, Bakool
$1,002,116

International Medical Corps
Health/Nutrition
Bay, Bakool, Hiraan
$998,811

UNICEF - UNCAS
Air transport
Countrywide
$1,500,000

USAID/FFP   $16,865,900

WFP
5,700 metric tons (MT) of P.L. 480 Title II emergency food commodities
Countrywide
$3,704,900

CARE
17,910 MT of P.L. 480 Title II emergency food commodities
Countrywide
$13,161,000

STATE/PRM   $3,218,974

UNHCR
Refugee return assistance
Countrywide
$1,590,000

International Rescue Committee
Health, Income-generation, Agriculture for refugee returns
Countrywide
$976,534

Save the Children
Education and Children's rights for refugee returns
Countrywide
$652,440

Total USG Humanitarian Assistance to Somalia to date in FY 2002
$23,933,497


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