The
figures recorded by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, and the Norwegian
Refugee Council (NRC), show that conflict was among the main causes of
displacement between 1 January and 10 May this year, while over 408,000
people were displaced by floods sweeping across their villages and
another 312,000 people were displaced by ravaging drought. Most of them
fled to the regions of Hiraan in central Somalia and Gedo, in southern Somalia.
“These
are alarming figures of some of the most vulnerable people forced to
abandon the little that they had to head for the unknown,” said NRC’s
Somalia Country Director Mohamed Abdi. “With 1 million people displaced
already in less than five months, we can only fear the worst in the
coming months as all the ingredients of this catastrophe are boiling in
Somalia.”
Many
of those forced to flee are arriving in overcrowded urban areas and
sites already hosting internally displaced people placing immense strain
on already overstretched resources and exposing vulnerable people to
increasing protection risks such as evictions, family separation and gender-based violence.
Food,
shelter, and protection services including child protection and
prevention of gender-based violence are among people’s urgent needs.
“The
humanitarian needs in Somalia continue to grow. We are working together
with humanitarian agencies to respond as best we can, but with new
displacement climbing by the day, the needs are overwhelming,” said
UNHCR’s Representative in Somalia, Magatte Guisse. It’s a great tragedy
to witness the impact on Somalia’s most vulnerable. They are the least
responsible for the conflict and the climate crisis but are the hardest
hit.”
More
than 3.8 million people are now displaced in Somalia, exacerbating 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 are severely malnourished. Yet, aid agencies have so far
received only 22 per cent of the resources required to deliver
much-needed assistance this year.
“We
urge the international donors to step up funding to better protect
those who are most likely to bear the brunt of the current crisis,
otherwise we will never see the end of this unfolding human tragedy,”
added Guisse.
ENDS
Notes for editors:
- B-roll showing displacement camps and conditions can be downloaded for free use and distribution here.
- The
Protection and Return Monitoring Network (PRMN) is a UNHCR-led project
implemented in partnership with NRC, which reports on displacement and
protection risks in Somalia. The latest data can be found here.
- According
to PRMN data spanning over 17 years, this is the third time that
Somalia has crossed the one million mark for IDPs in a single year. The
previous two recorded times were in 2020 and 2022. Unlike
previous years, however, this crisis is occurring earlier in the year,
with 1 million displaced by May as opposed to August/September.
For press queries or interviews, contact:
NRC
Karl Schembri, Regional Media Adviser in Nairobi, +254741664562, karl.schembri@nrc.no
NRC’s media hotline: +4790562329, media@nrc.no
UNHCR
In Nairobi (regional), Faith Kasina, +254 113 427 094, kasina@unhcr.org
In Somalia, Marco Lembo , +254 714 524 339, lembo@unhcr.org
In Geneva, Olga Sarrado, +41 79 740 23 07, sarrado@unhcr.org
