Somalia on the Verge of Famine

The international community cannot stand by and allow yet another catastrophic famine to unfold in Somalia. More than 363,000 children are in need of urgent nutrition support, with 71,000 severely malnourished on the verge of starvation. In 2011 the world said ‘never again’ and yet despite numerous warnings the international community has been too slow to act.

World Vision calls for the following, immediate actions:

1. Elevate the international alert level to respond to a possible famine in Somalia. The UN must openly communicate the gravity of the situation to its Members States, urging them to provide timely financial support to the relief efforts.

2. Remove impediments to humanitarian access. The Federal Government of Somalia and the regional governments must ensure safe, unimpeded and regular access to rural and remote areas for humanitarian organisations to deliver aid to the affected children and communities. This includes ensuring bureaucratic impediments such as regional registrations are dealt with effectively. All parties to the conflict in Somalia must facilitate humanitarian relief operations, in accordance with applicable provisions of international humanitarian law and the UN guiding principles of humanitarian emergency assistance.

3. Prioritise child protection and address malnutrition. Donors must ensure child protection and malnutrition interventions are fully funded as part of the response efforts and that protection of children is mainstreamed in all humanitarian response activities as per the Interagency Minimum Standards for Child Protection.