Emergency Aid for More Than 150,000 People in Somalia
Failed harvests, dying livestock, lack of clean drinking water, disease outbreaks, and barely any access to healthcare. Due to prolonged and extreme drought, Somalia is once again on the brink of a humanitarian crisis. Many families have little to nothing left to eat, and more and more children are becoming malnourished.
Together with the Dutch Relief Alliance (DRA) and six local partners, Help a Child launched an emergency relief project in Somalia this month. This project will run until early September.
What is Help a Child going to do?
- Healthcare: we support health clinics in the care of pregnant women and newborn babies, and in the treatment of rapidly spreading diseases such as cholera and diphtheria.
- Water and hygiene: we ensure access to clean drinking water, build emergency latrines, and provide hygiene education to prevent disease outbreaks as much as possible.
- Nutrition: we support the screening and treatment of malnutrition among children and pregnant women and distribute food vouchers.
- Money: we help families financially so that they can meet their essential needs.
The current situation Most Somali families are entirely dependent on agriculture and raising livestock for their livelihood. Due to the persistent drought, their crops are failing, livestock are dying, and they are forced to flee to survive. Young children, in particular, are at risk of acute malnutrition. Furthermore, there is barely any access to clean drinking water and sanitation facilities, allowing diseases to spread rapidly, especially in areas where displaced families live in close proximity. There is no access to adequate healthcare.
On top of that, humanitarian aid in Somalia has declined sharply. Many international donors have withdrawn, forcing aid organizations to scale back or cease their activities. Somali families need our help now more than ever.
About the Dutch Relief Alliance
The Dutch Relief Alliance consists of fourteen Dutch humanitarian organizations that collaborate with the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and local organizations to provide emergency aid in countries such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, and South Sudan.