Oxfam Canada

Published purpose

March 2013 - Somalia remains a country in extreme crisis: an estimated 2.1 million people (or 25 percent of the population) require immediate humanitarian assistance and a further 1.7 million people remain on the brink of crisis, with all reserves gone and vulnerable to the slightest shock. Widespread food insecurity, acute malnutrition, and displacement, caused by both conflict and climatic events (drought, flooding), all remain serious concerns. Malnutrition rates in many areas of the country remain above the 15 percent emergency threshold. More than 70 percent of the population is without reliable access to safe water. In addition, more than one million Somalis remain displaced from their homes. With CIDA support, Oxfam is providing treatment for acute malnutrition, safe drinking water, adequate sanitation facilities, and knowledge of proper hygiene practices to an estimated 142,000 people affected by drought and conflict in the Kismayu district of Lower Juba region in southern Somalia.