drc.dk: Somalia: On the brink of disaster

Somalia: On the brink of disaster

01.07.11

Category: Africa, Press releases, Relief work, Horn of Africa

War and drought is now forcing more than 30,000 people to flee from Somalia every month. They cross the borders to neighboring Kenya and Ethiopia to look for protection and life saving aid. The Danish Refugee Council is working in the hastily growing refugee camps and now starts assistance activities in even more camps in Ethiopia to provide emergency relief to the suffering population.

One of the hardest hit areas is Dolo Ado in southern Ethiopia in the border area with Kenya and Somalia. Here, the two existing camps are already overcrowded and three new camps are being prepared to receive the large numbers of new Somali refugees.

Dolo Ado is one of the places where Somalis seek protection and assistance having left their homes and their country. Malnourished, exhausted and sick, small and large groups of refugees reach the camps in Kenya and now also increasingly in Ethiopia.

"The situation is so serious in the Horn of Africa that we need to ensure a very quick response. People are starving and child mortality is growing at an alarming rate. It is a very disturbing situation, and therefore, the Danish Refugee Council has decided to launch extraordinary and massive support for Dolo Ado," says Ann Mary Olsen, Head of the Danish Refugee Council's International Department.

During the month of June, 18,745 Somalis have arrived in refugee camps in Dolo Ado in southern Ethiopia. And the exodus from Somalia to neighboring countries is increasing. People attempt to escape intensified fighting aggravated by a historic drought. But even the flight is a dangerous ordeal for the many who are weakened by prolonged lack of clean drinking water and food.

"We work with both relief in the Dadaab camps in Kenya, the world's largest refugee settlement, and we are now commencing relief aid to Dolo Ado in Ethiopia. In Dolo Ado, the problems are exacerbating at such a rate that we are struggling to keep up. The assistance to be provided to the area now is essential to save lives and to help the Somalis, who are simultaneously affected by the plights of war, drought and the flight," says Anne Sophie Laenkholm, Danish Refugee Council's Deputy Regional Director at the Horn of Africa.

The newly arrived Somalis are in very poor nutritional and medical condition. New figures show that one in three suffers from severe malnutrition affecting particularly children and vulnerable parts of the refugee population.

The Danish Refugee Council expects to expand the relief operation in Dolo Ado in Ethiopia over the coming months. In Somalia itself, an estimated 1.4 million people are internally displaced due to the civil war and the drought classified as the worst in 60 years. In addition, it is estimated that at least as many Somalis suffer from the humanitarian crisis in the country.

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