afrol News, 15 July - Humanitarian agencies operating in Somalia have appealed for $11 million to provide aid to over 200,000 people who have fled Mogadishu since fighting broke out between the government and the opposition Al-Shabab and Hisb-ul-Islam groups in early May.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that those most in need of water, sanitation and hygiene services include more than 600,000 people displaced by clashes since 2007 and who are settled in the Afgooye corridor outside Mogadishu.

According to OCHA, aid agencies in the country are currently only able to supply two to eight litres of water per person per day in that area, which the agency said was not enough to sustain a living.

There is also currently one latrine for every 212 displaced people in the Afgooye corridor, the report also pointed out.

“A major concern is the effect the lack of water is having on efforts to prevent the spread of communicable diseases in overcrowded situations,” OCHA said.

According to the appeal, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) requires $3.3 million before the end of July to maintain life-saving operations for more than 1 million conflict-affected people, while current emergency funding allocated for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) is likely to be exhausted within the next two months, according to OCHA.

Over $2.1 million is also needed to provide water to drought-affected communities in Puntland, Somaliland and other areas in the south-central region of the country, where more than 227,000 people are currently subsisting on 2 litres of water per day or less.

Violence continues in the Horn of Africa nation despite the signing of the UN-facilitated peace accord last year, as well as the election of President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed and the formation of a new Government in February.

By staff writer

© afrol News

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