JourneyOnline
THE UNITED Nations reports that the number of people needing assistance in the Horn of Africa crisis has now risen to 12.4 million, with drought declared in three more areas of Somalia.
Alistair Gee, Executive Director of Act for Peace, the international aid agency of the National Council of Churches in Australia, said the situation is worse than ever.
“Act for Peace is working with long-term partners in Somalia in providing both humanitarian assistance to those in greatest
need and disarmament of those with weapons,” he said. “There has been civil war and no central government in Somalia
since 1991.
“The lack of centralised control, combined with widespread insecurity and a thriving illicit arms trade has led to protracted periods of fighting and widespread use of small arms.
“This war has displaced 20 per cent of the entire population and made it the least peaceful country on earth according to the Global Peace Index.
“Last month alone, 55 000 Somalis fled across the borders into Ethiopia and Kenya.”
Rebecca Larson, Deputy General Secretary of Act for Peace’s global partner, ACT Alliance, reported that members globally are working tirelessly to raise funds and to keep at bay the worst eff ects of famine and drought.
Ms Larson said the underlying drivers of vulnerability in the region — conflict, poverty and food insecurity — demand that emergency relief be provided in a way that promotes long term sustainability.
For more information or to give to Act for Peace’s Horn of Africa emergency appeal visit www.actforpeace.org.au
Photo : After trekking for a month across East Africa, two Somali women wait with their children to be registered in the Dadaab refugee camp in northeastern Kenya. Tens of thousands of newly arrived Somalis have swelled the population of what was already the world’s largest refugee camp. Photo by Paul Jeffrey/ACT Alliance
