afrol News, 20 January - A new socio-economic survey of Somalia, the first such report in over two decades, has now been made and published. The study documents the difficulties people face without a central government or basic public services. Most Somalis cannot afford private sector services, the survey concludes.

The World Bank and the UN's development agency (UNDP) had prepared the report, based on a nationwide household survey. "Even before the 1991-1995 civil war, economic and social statistics were lacking, but conflict and the collapse of many institutions over the last decade compounded the shortage," Sandra Macharia from UNDP Somalia commented today.

The survey estimates that 43 percent of Somalis live in extreme poverty, surviving on less than a US dollar a day, and finds that nearly half the workforce is unemployed. Nearly one in four children ages 5 to 14 work to help their families get by, according to UNDP.

Illiteracy by now is the norm. Only "one in four men and 13 percent of women are literate, and only 17 percent of children are enrolled in primary school. Access to health care is difficult: mother and child health centres are available to only one in four families and only 17 percent of Somalis say they can afford them," Ms Macharia reports from the survey.

Surprisingly, however, some sectors have seen improvements, the survey found. This most noteworthy had included telecommunications, where the collapse of the state monopoly had allowed private cell phone companies to grow.

The World Bank and UNDP are jointly implementing the 'Somalia Watching Brief', a programme to set up data collection systems, strengthen statistical institutions, and help establish a statistical database to monitor economic and social conditions.

According to Ms Macharia, "The survey is not comprehensive, but provides a snapshot of various sectors, and the partners plan more thorough studies."

Makhtar Diop, World Bank Country Director for Kenya, Eritrea and Somalia, however told UNDP Somalia that the survey had been important. "This report represents a first step in providing reliable statistical data on demographic and socio-economic indicators for Somalia, which is of critical importance for informed planning and policy making to best meet the needs in the country," he noted.

UNDP's Ms Macharia said the survey was covering demographics and housing, employment and income, basic services, communication, participation of women, and environmental concerns. It was carried out with the support and participation of functioning Somali administrations and international partners, she adds.

- The survey is particularly important because it gives us a picture of what Somalia looks like today, said UNDP Country Director El-Balla Hagona. "It will also be important in providing indicators for more informed developmental interventions and initiatives, as well as preparing the Millennium Development Goals Report on Somalia."

The survey is the first in a series of joint Work Bank/UNDP statistical reports, the UN development agency reports today. "The data collection and statistical capacity building are to be strengthened under the joint World Bank/UNDP re-engagement strategy for Somalia, with the collaboration of other development partners," UNDP adds.

By staff writer

© afrol News

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