They highlight that these people have crossed the border in recent weeks fleeing the fighting in the city of Las Anod
March 23 (EUROPA PRESS) –
Various United Nations agencies and NGOs have demanded 116 million dollars (about 107 million euros) to give “vital aid” to more than 100,000 Somalis who have crossed the border with Ethiopia fleeing the fighting that has been going on since February in the Las Anod city.
Most of the refugees who have arrived in Ethiopia due to the fighting, which has also left hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people, are women, children, and the elderly with specific needs who arrive “with nothing, scared and hungry,” according to a joint statement.
Thus, they have explained that among them there is a “high number” of unaccompanied minors and have stressed that the humanitarian situation on the ground “is calamitous, with moderate acute malnutrition observed in many children under five years of age, and in pregnant women and infants”.
“The Ethiopian government and local communities have generously welcomed refugees, offering them all the help they can, but with the continued arrivals, resources are already severely stretched,” said the director of the Regional Office of the High Commissioner for United Nations for Refugees (UNHCR) for East Africa, the Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes, Clementine Nkweta-Salami.
“We need additional funds to speed up aid delivery and address acute and growing humanitarian needs,” he said. In this way, the agencies have indicated that these funds would help provide accommodation, food and items such as blankets, mats and mosquito nets.
In this way, they have specified that emergency assistance is already being provided to cover the most immediate food and nutritional needs of the newly arrived people. The aid will prioritize child protection services, prevention and response to gender violence, documentation and education.
In this context, child-friendly spaces will be created to contribute to their well-being and family location and reunification services will be carried out, as well as alternative care agreements for children separated from their families.
The agencies have reported that the objective is to establish two camps in Mirkan and Docmo, on land provided by the Ethiopian authorities, while investments will be made to expand public health centers, supply medicines and medical care, and establish nutritional support programs.
“This influx of refugees occurs at the worst possible time, in an extremely remote area of the Somali region of Ethiopia, which is also one of the most affected by the worst drought in the last 60 years,” said the regional director. World Food Program (WFP) for East Africa, Michael Dunford. “To save lives, we need immediate funding,” he added.
Lastly, the agencies have warned that funding levels are still at “critical” lows and have maintained that as the number of displaced persons increases, needs will increasingly exceed available resources.
The appeal has been made by UNHCR, the WFP, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), the World Health Organization (WHO), the International Organization for Migration (IOM), as well as the non-governmental organizations GOAL, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC), Organization for Sustainable Development (ODS) and OWS Development Funds (OWS-DF).
Fighting broke out on 6 February in Las Anod, the administrative center of the Sool region, between Somaliland forces and militant groups after local leaders represented in the so-called Unity and Salvation Authority of the Sool, Sanaag and Cayn (SSC) declare their intention to rejoin federal Somalia.
Somaliland declared independence from Somalia in 1991, but has not gained wide international recognition for its status and has faced opposition from some clan elders in disputed areas along its border with Somalia’s semi-autonomous Puntland state.
