CARE Canada

Published purpose

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, CARE Canada is addressing the urgent humanitarian needs of an estimated 17,600 internally displaced persons and other crisis-affected people in Kismayo and Badhaade within Somalia. Project activities include: (1) the provision of conditional (cash for work) or unconditional cash transfers or agricultural inputs (productive livestock) to improve food security and protect livelihoods; (2) the provision of essential non-food items for refugees and IDPs returning to their places of origin; (3) the provision of gender-appropriate hygiene kits for vulnerable women and girls; and; (4) the rehabilitation of strategic water sources such as shallow wells and boreholes.