Appeal

Somalia

Assistance for the Internally Displaced in Somalia - AFSO91

Appeal Target: US$ 3,800,321

Geneva, 17 February 2009

Somalia has largely remained ungoverned by a central administration since 1991 following the collapse of Said Barre's regime. The consequences of this situation have been grave, especially from a humanitarian standpoint. The country has witnessed one disaster after another, precipitating a perennial state of emergency. Natural disasters that have wrought havoc in Somalia include droughts, floods (along river Juba and Shabelle basins), 2004 Tsunami, locusts and livestock disease outbreaks. Persistent human conflict that leads to death, injury and large scale displacements constitutes the single notable man-made disaster.

The outlook for Somalia up to June 2009 paints rather bleak scenarios. The Protection Cluster IDP Movement Tracking estimated in November 2008 that 1.5 million Somalis have been displaced from their homes in South & Central Somalia as a result of the ongoing conflict between the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) forces with their backers (Ethiopian Forces and African Union Peacekeepers) and the Islamists militia. Estimates on displacements since January 2008 are over 900,000. Humanitarian agencies estimate that up to 2.6 million people are in need of emergency food aid and that this figure is likely to rise to 3.35 million if the fighting continues and drought conditions persist. At the same time, access for humanitarian operations has been significantly reduced and the mobility of humanitarian workers restricted, due to the raging conflict.

Owing the foregoing, the ACT Somalia forum comprising Norwegian Church Aid (NCA), Christian Aid (CA) and Diakonie Katastrophenhilfe (DKH), has decided to formulate this joint appeal for humanitarian assistance. The Appeal seeks USD 3,800,321 to support humanitarian interventions including emergency relief (food), emergency water & sanitation projects, capacity building of local institutions involved in humanitarian work as well integration of cross cutting issues (gender, HIV & AIDS and peace-building) within project delivery mechanisms. The interventions are based on assessments done by partners and are designed in such a way as to ensure seamless transition from emergency to early phases of recovery.

The interventions will be implemented through four partners in project sites located in the autonomous state of Puntland and Central & South regions of Somalia. These are the worst affected regions and in addition, the implementing partners have long standing experience and strong presence. Coordination mechanism for the interventions will be through the ACT Somalia Forum (ASF). However, ASF will continue to actively liaise with existing external coordination mechanisms such as the UN-Supported Somali Support Secretariat and Somali NGO Consortium.

Project Completion Date: 31 December 2009

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FOR THE FULL TEXT AND BUDGET OF THE APPEAL (PDF FILE), KINDLY VISIT THE ACT SITE. THANK YOU. ______________________________________________________________________________

Please kindly send your contributions to either of the following ACT bank accounts:

US dollar

Account Number - 240-432629.60A

IBAN No: CH46 0024 0240 4326 2960A

Euro

Euro Bank Account Number - 240-432629.50Z

IBAN No: CH84 0024 0240 4326 2950Z

Account Name: ACT - Action by Churches Together

UBS AG

8, rue du Rhône

P.O. Box 2600

1211 Geneva 4, SWITZERLAND

Swift address: UBSWCHZH80A

Please also inform the Finance Officer Jessie Kgoroeadira (jkg@act-intl.org) and the Programme Officer, Michael Hyden (mhy@act-intl.org, of all pledges/contributions and transfers, including funds sent direct to the implementers, now that the Pledge Form is no longer attached to the Appeal.

We would appreciate being informed of any intent to submit applications for EU, USAID and/or other back donor funding and the subsequent results. We thank you in advance for your kind cooperation.

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ACT is a global alliance of churches and related agencies working to save lives and support communities in emergencies worldwide. The ACT Coordinating Office is based with the World Council of Churches (WCC) and The Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Switzerland.