Somalia

Somalia is in the midst of a brutal war which has claimed many thousands of lives. The Somali people continue to suffer unimaginable threats to their security, with little hope of any short-term improvement.

• Latest blog post: Piracy on Somali seas

Piracy has brought significant international attention, while the scale of attacks reinforces the complete breakdown of law and order.

Despite the extremely challenging circumstances, we continue to work in four regions in south and central Somalia, delivering assistance to more than 800,000 people.

Education work

9,323 children have benefited from our education work. We provided training for 287 teachers and 190 community education committees. 15 schools were repaired and three new schools were built. We also helped 156 older girls gain access to vocational skills training.

Clean water

We are working to bring clean water to three regions of Somalia. This work consists in rehabilitation of wells, boreholes and rain water catchments. We have trained members of these communities to manage and maintain their wells and boreholes. We are also training women to promote the importance of hygiene in the community.

Over 200,000 people over the three regions are now enjoying clean, safe drinking water and improved health. In areas worst affected by the drought, water trucking reached over 10,000 people deprived of water.

Nutrition

We have begun an emergency nutrition intervention, targeting malnourished children under five and pregnant and lactating mothers.

HIV and AIDS

485 people attended our HIV awareness sessions. 87 people were trained to encourage behaviour change among their peers – at work, school and in the community.

Additionally, we ran 63 “community conversation” sessions, where 445 illiterate people learnt about HIV and AIDS within their community. These sessions identified the risks and reflected on how to address them. This work is crucial in a country where more than 78% of the population is illiterate.

Conflict and food crisis

We continued to support people displaced by the recent conflict and food crisis. 343,914 people benefited from cash-for-work, unconditional cash transfers and distribution of non-food items.

Support to children worst affected by the conflict

In Mogadishu and in the refugees’ settlements, we have continued to support the children worst affected by the conflict. This is done through non-formal education sessions, vocational training, and psychological support by professional counsellors. We also work to promote children’s rights within the communities.