March 7, 2017 | Daily Monitoring Report
UN Chief In Somalia On Emergency Visit To Focus On Famine
07 March-Source: Associated Press- 356 Words
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres met Somalia’s new President Mohamed Abdullahi Mohamed in Mogadishu Tuesday to start of what he calls an emergency visit to Somalia to highlight the country’s famine crisis.”People are dying. The world must act now to stop this,” the U.N. chief tweeted to announce his arrival in this Horn of Africa nation.”We need to make as much noise as possible,” said Guterres. “Conflict, drought, climate change, disease, cholera. The combination is a nightmare.”
The U.N. leader urged international support to provide food and humanitarian aid to Somalia. “This hunger requires a massive response,” he said.Welcoming the U.N. chief, Mohamed said: “My first priority is to address this drought crisis and my main priority is to make an appeal to the international community to help us.”Somalia is one of the six Muslim-majority countries affected by the new travel ban ordered by U.S. President Donald Trump.”Definitely we will prefer to see that this travel ban should be lifted and, of course, we have to communicate with the U.S. government because as everyone knows we have a large Somali community in the United States who I’m sure have contributed to the U.S. economy,” said Mohamed, in response to press questions. “We have to address the root cause, which is the security situation here and how to defeat (Somalia’s Islamic extremist rebels) al Shabaab here.”
Guterres said he was pleased to meet Mohamed, who was elected and inaugurated last month. “I am bringing a message of solidarity to the president. A message of support,” said Guterres. “Let’s hope he can start and inclusive government.”Somalia is part of a massive $4 billion aid appeal launched last month for four nations suffering from conflict and hunger. The others are Nigeria, Yemen and South Sudan, where famine already has been declared.
Key Headlines
- UN Chief In Somalia On Emergency Visit To Focus On Famine (Associated Press)
- We will Re-operate No: 50 Airport South West President Said (Jowhar.com)
- Puntland Gets Trucks With Funds Intended To Help Drought Victims (Garowe Online)
- Cholera Outbreak Has Claimed 289 Lives 875 Infected In Somalia Since January (Goobjoog News)
- Trump’s New Travel Order: Sudan Somalia And Libya Remain Banned (Bernama)
- AMISOM Strengthens Capacity Of Somali Stakeholders In Conflict Negotiation And Mediation (AMISOM)
- Famine Stalks Somalia Again (Al Jazeera English)
NATIONAL MEDIA
We will Re-operate No: 50 Airport, South West President Said
07 March – Source: Jowhar.com- 117 Words
The President of Southwest State, Sharif Hassan said that his administration will re-activate the No.50 airport located in the Middle Shabelle region. According to the President, his administration will restore public infrastructure such as airports and opening corridors in order to smoothly deliver assistance into the population. “We are planning to re-activate No.50 airport soon, also there is ongoing rehabilitation to the Barawe airport,” Sharif Hassan said. He added that his administration will move to Barawe the capital city of the state when the rehabilitation is completed. The president also spoke a of planned cabinet reshuffle, and that is part of plans to prevent him from opposition MPs whom already filed an impeachment motion against him.
Puntland Gets Trucks With Funds Intended To Help Drought Victims
07 March – Source: Garowe Online – 250 Words
The Vice President of Puntland, Abdihakim Haji Omar Amey has revealed that his administration has acquired new trucks with funds intended to help drought-hit communities in Puntland. Vice President Amey returned back to the state capital Garowe on Monday and held a press conference about his participation in the high-level summit on drought in the Somali capital of Mogadishu last week along with officials from the Federal Government and international partners.
At the press conference, Amey said that Somali Federal Government has donated earlier $ 150,000 for rapid emergency response, but the funds were utilized to acquire 6 trucks to deliver water and food to remote vicinities in the region. Nomadic communities in Puntland were reported to be in dire need of immediate food supply and medical assistance. The Vice President didn’t provide details of which agency will be in charge of the new trucks that will deliver humanitarian aid.
Cholera Outbreak Has Claimed 289 Lives, 875 Infected In Somalia Since January
07 March – Source: Goobjoog News – 320 Words
At least 289 people in Somalia have been killed by a cholera outbreak since the beginning of the year, as medics step up efforts to prevent the disease from spreading amid a drought ravaging various parts of the country, Goobjoog News investigations detail. The severe drought in Somalia has caused the depletion of main water sources and as result, many communities have been forced to rely on dirty water collected from untreated boreholes.
The investigations mapped out close to 20 towns in different regional states that are currently reporting cases of cholera outbreak. The latest statistics of deaths and admissions since January this year from hospitals in Hirshabelle, Galmudug, Puntland, Southwest, Jubbaland, Somaliland states indicate that the spread and impact of the disease has doubled. The cholera surveillance report revealed that the highest number of cases is being reported among people above 46 years old, followed by those between six and a year.
Hospitals in Hirshabelle state have recorded a death toll of 130. Another 150 patients are currently admitted in a special ward at Jowhar hospital suffering from the disease. The medics Jowhar say the disease was first reported two months ago from and now almost every village in Middle Shabelle region is affected. A total of 270 people had been infected with cholera in Jubbaland State, a figure that is expected to rise as the outbreak is most severe in the inaccessible villages especially most of Middle Jubba region controlled by Al-Shabaab militants.
Medical officers at Kismayo Hospital who spoke to Goobjoog News said the number was likely to increase because more patients with the symptoms are being admitted. In Southwest state, 80 people have died while 225 others have been admitted to various hospitals following a cholera outbreak in Baay and Bakool region.Puntland and the breakaway Somaliland also recorded 200 cases of cholera each.
INTERNATIONAL MEDIA
Trump’s New Travel Order: Sudan, Somalia And Libya Remain Banned
07 March – Source: Bernama – 410 Words
US President Donald John Trump has signed a revised travel ban banning citizens of 6 Muslim-majority countries from entering the United States. Three African countries are affected by the ban which is expected to take effect after 10 days. Somalia, Sudan and Libya have made the list again. An earlier ban which affected 7 countries was suspended by a federal judge, the result of which is the current one.The 10-day period is believed to be in place to avert some of the chaotic scenes that were seen at US airports after the first ban which was to take immediate effect. The current order has also ‘freed’ Iraq from the ban. Syria, Yemen and Iran complete the latest list. The White House said Trump signed the order — which temporarily freezes new visas for Syrians, Iranians, Libyans, Somalis, Yemenis and Sudanese citizens — behind closed doors “this (Monday) morning”.
The order places a 120 day freeze on all refugee arrivals. The revised ban, which comes into effect on March 16, said the six countries were targeted because their screening and information capabilities could not meet US security requirements. Officials said that, unlike in the initial Jan 27 executive order, all pre-existing, valid visas from the six countries would be honored. The Trump administration’s wide-ranging initial travel restrictions were slapped down by the federal courts, after sparking a legal, political and logistical furor.
AMISOM Strengthens Capacity Of Somali Stakeholders In Conflict Negotiation And Mediation
07 March – Source: AMISOM – 658 Words
AMISOM has embarked on a peace programme that seeks to build and strengthen the capacity of Somali stakeholders in conflict negotiation, resolution and management. A three-day training for stakeholders began in Nairobi today and draws 21 Somali participants from different backgrounds and regions. They include State ministers, former MPs, government officials, clan elders and representatives of the civil society.
Among the trainers are renown conflict resolution experts Judith van der Booget (leader trainer, Clingedae Institute) and Roelf Meyer, a key player in negotiations that ended the apartheid regime in South Africa. “I expect that with the new acquired skills you will go back to Somalia to support negotiations, mediation and dialogue initiatives of your respective places of work and communities,” the AU Special Representative for Somalia and Head of AMISOM, Ambassador Francisco Caetano Madeira told the participants during the opening ceremony, in the outskirts of Kenya’s capital.
To pull Somalia from its current conflict, the Somalis will have to be tolerant with one another and try to find a level playing ground that can allow them to live in harmony, stressed Ambassador Madeira. “We have to be aware of one thing; we are different even when we speak the same language and have the same religion. We are brought from different families. There are always differences but they (differences) shouldn’t be elevated to level of conflict. Difference is richness is necessary. We should find common denominator that can allow us to live together tolerate each other,” he said.
OPINION, ANALYSIS AND CULTURE
“It’s difficult to see how the situation in Somalia can improve quickly enough to avert famine.It’s worrying to think that as journalists we may return in the coming months to tell the stories of people who won’t make it through this drought,”
Famine Stalks Somalia Again
07 March -Source: Al Jazeera English – 606 Words
I last worked in Somalia six years ago, when famine also loomed, and there were countless stories to tell about starvation, a health crisis and devastation.Knowing it is little different this time round is heartbreaking. A drought that appears to be worsening has left more than 6.2 million people without enough food, if any at all.Last week, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned Somalia was at risk of its third famine in 25 years. The last one, in 2011, killed almost 260,000 people.
We arrive in Doolow where the intense heat smothers us from the moment we step off the United Nations humanitarian aid flight we’ve arrived on. Our first stop is a transit camp where internally displaced people stream in, some looking for help for a few days, others resting on their way to Ethiopia.The Ethiopian border is across a bridge at the edge of this little town. Dozens of people congregate almost daily these days waiting for word they can cross.It is up to Ethiopian authorities to decide if that will happen and people can make their way to a nearby refugee camp. There is some comfort for many who arrive in this town, knowing they are at least a little safer from al-Shabab fighters and clan wars.
About 250km south east in Baidoa, where we travel next, the atmosphere is different. There is a significant African Union military presence. It’s needed to keep the town safe from al-Shabab who have almost free reign just outside. In the camps, people complain about not receiving any aid.The people we spoke to had walked or ridden on donkey carts for hundreds of kilometres to makeshift camps in the town. Some were farmers who had lost all their goats and cattle to the drought. They have had at least three failed harvests and, without this livestock, they have nothing. They are now living in tents pulled together with plastic sheeting and whatever material they can find.The sense of community is clear as people club together to do what they can to help their neighbour.
People constantly group around us watching what we are doing, out of curiosity and boredom. These camps are cramped, there is little to do, people are hungry and waiting for any relief.Watching our team filming gives them with something to busy themselves with, even if for just half an hour. Our time at the camp is limited, we have to move fast because of security concerns. We travel everywhere in this town with a security escort.
TOP TWEETS
@Gobanimodoon : #UN chief in #Somalia on emergency visit to focus on famine – ABC News – http://abcn.ws/2n8WROt via @ABC
@Daudoo : #UN Chief, Antonio Guterres, meets with President #Farmajo in #Mogadishu. Says @UN needs $825m to avert Famine & Drought crisis in #Somalia
@RadioErgo : #Somalia Abdirizak,a herder in Buhodle who contacted us says that the area is in gripe of famine after they lost everything to the #drought
@SomaliaThinks : I detest corrupt politicians, AS, mooriyaan & exploitative businessmen. They are responsible for #Somalia‘s problems, including the poverty.
@YahyeYoungM : #BREAKING: 9 buses and a plane carriyng 680 somali refugees, departed from #kenya #dadaab camp going to now #Mogadishu N #dhobley #Somalia
@JamalHNur : Southwest regional state Intel officer shot dead by #AlShabaab assassins in the outskirt of #Baidoa town last night – Reports #Somalia
@amisomsomalia : Amb. Caetano: To pull #Somalia from its conflict, Somalis will have to be tolerant with one another and try to find a level playing ground.
IMAGE OF THE DAY
UN Secretary General address the press on his visit to Somalia on Tuesday.
Photo: @HassanIstilla