The United Nations (UN) agencies and partner organizations have made a joint appeal for $116 million to provide essential assistance to Somali refugees seeking refuge in Ethiopia’s Somali region, this is to help address the growing humanitarian crisis and save lives.
According to Clementine Nkweta Salami, the Regional Director of the UNHCR for the East and Horn of Africa and Great Lakes Region, additional funding is necessary for UN agencies to provide aid to those in need. Although the refugees have been welcomed by the Ethiopian government and local communities, the resources have been stretched beyond their limits due to the increasing number of arrivals.
Since the clashes that erupted in the city of Las Anod in northern Somalia on February 6th, hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced within Somalia, and approximately 100,000 people have fled to Ethiopia to escape the violence. Most of the new arrivals are women, children, older people, and individuals with specific needs, According to UN agencies,
The funds will be used to provide immediate assistance to those in need, such as urgently needed shelter and relief items like blankets, mats, and mosquito nets. In addition, monthly general food distributions will be provided to all families in need. The agencies also highlighted the high number of unaccompanied and separated children among the new arrivals.
Michael Dunford, WFP’s Regional Director for East Africa, emphasized the urgent need for funding to save the lives of fleeing Somalis. The refugee influx is occurring in an extremely remote area of Ethiopia’s Somali region, which is also one of the worst-hit areas by the worst drought in 60 years. The UN reports that Ethiopia was already hosting 884,000 refugees and asylum-seekers, mainly from South Sudan, Somalia, and Eritrea, before the most recent arrivals.