Somalia - Health and Nutrition Assistance for Internally Displaced People - Save the Children 2016

March 2016 - Somalia has suffered from conflict and insecurity for more than twenty five years and remains vulnerable to the effects of chronic natural disasters (drought flooding) making it one of the longest running and most severe humanitarian contexts in the world. According to recent United Nations assessments 4.9 million Somalis (about one half of the population) now require humanitarian assistance to survive an increase of more than 60% since the beginning of 2015. Of these over one million people have been internally displaced (and more than one million more are living as refugees in neighbouring countries). Widespread hunger high levels of acute malnutrition lack of access to safe water and adequate sanitation vulnerability to disease outbreaks and threats to personal safety and security are all characteristics of the ongoing humanitarian crisis facing the Somali population. With GAC’s support Save the Children Canada is addressing the urgent humanitarian needs of up to 60 000 internally displaced persons around Mogadishu and Baidoa. Project activities include: (1) the support of four primary health care units two in each project area offering a wide range of consultative and curative services; (2) the provision of outpatient therapeutic feeding targeted supplementary feeding and outreach regarding infant and young child feeding to combat acute malnutrition; and (3) the rehabilitation of safe water and sanitation resources serving the health care units and surrounding communities.

The expected immediate outcomes for this project include: (1) improved access to healthcare; (2) improved access to treatment for acute malnutrition; and (3) improved access to safe water and sanitation for target communities. The expected ultimate outcome is reduced vulnerability of crisis-affected people particularly women and children.