East Africa food crisis: Oxfam's response in Somalia

Somalia continues to be the epicentre of the food crisis in East Africa, and one of the world's biggest humanitarian emergencies.

Working with local Somali partner organisations, Oxfam has so far reached around 1.3 million people affected by the crisis.

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On the ground

Somalia continues to be the epicentre of the crisis and one of the world's biggest humanitarian emergencies, with severe drought exacerbated by years of conflict and restrictions on aid access by all parties. Insecurity makes Somalia one of the most difficult places to deliver aid. However, working with local Somali partner organisations, Oxfam has so far reached around 1.3 million people affected by the crisis.

Despite some improvements in the famine zones, forecasts for the current rainy season predict that the rains will be poorly distributed and 25-40% lower than normal.

Video: Drought, poverty and conflict in Somalia

Therapeutic feeding centres

Oxfam partners operate 15 centres throughout Mogadishu that provide care for malnourished children and their mothers. These centres have treated 150,000 children in the past year, making it the single largest nutrition programme in South Central Somalia. Children under five years old are also vaccinated here, and pregnant mothers are provided with tetanus vaccines.

Blog: As drought weakens Somalia, children regain strength

Water and sanitation

Around 900,000 people in Somalia benefit from water systems built and maintained by Oxfam partners. In the Afgooye Corridor alone - one of the world's most densely populated areas, with an estimated 415,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) crowded into a 15km stretch of land - Oxfam partners have built water tanks and pumps, latrines, and carried out health campaigns to reduce the spread of disease. Oxfam also helps prevent acute watery diarrhoea and cholera at Banadir hospital, the only children's hospital in Mogadishu.

Cash transfers and support for farmers

Over 320,000 people in Somalia have benefited from cash distributions that help people to buy food, seeds and water.

Our partners have carried out technical training and provided seeds and tools to help farmers in the Lower Juba region to plant for the next harvest.

Oxfam innovation

A recent Oxfam study found that more than half of displaced families in Mogadishu used mobile phones, and 75% of them were interested in using these to communicate information about health. Oxfam is piloting a project to convey public health information to insecure and hard to reach communities through a new mobile phone application. This is being used to mitigate the spread of cholera by reaching 100,000 people in IDP (Internally Displaced People) camps in Mogadishu.