Disaster Relief
“We cannot stop natural disasters, but we can arm ourselves with knowledge: so many lives wouldn’t have to be lost if there was enough disaster preparedness.” – Petra Nemcova
The challenging situation of Somalia today is due to several disasters affecting the people and nation. Civil war, famine, drought, and even the most recent terrorist attacks are all events that have led to widespread damage and destruction. Unfortunately, Somalia is lacking much of the institutional coordination and infrastructure required to be adequately prepared for disasters both natural and man-made. In any case, it is in times of acute disaster that an acute response is required.
Poverty relief is a broader and ongoing endeavour, whereas disaster relief efforts are specific to the type of event and are needed in the immediate aftermath of the event.
In the past IIDF has provided Basic Livelihood Packages as part of the drought relief effort in 2017. These Packages are relatively simple to prepare and organize, but we need to have the resources to do so when the moment calls for it. Now it is time to scale up these efforts and expand the range of support we offer during times of unexpected disaster.
Here are some key statistics regarding disaster relief in Somalia:
The Somali civil war officially began in 1991 and there has been ongoing conflict since then.
Famine in 2011 killed 260 000 people and affected 3.1 million people.
Over ten years of drought in Somalia has left nearly 50% of the country hungry.
Droughts and floods are the two dominant environmental hazards affecting majority of the country.
Heavy rainfall has caused floods that are affecting 536 000 people – destroying infrastructure, farm, and crop production. This has been ongoing since 2019.
In the first half of 2020, there were 189,000 new displacements associated with conflict and violence and 514,000 as a result of disasters.
