Britain’s May Urges International Partnership for Famine-Hit Somalia
Hodan, 21, holds her baby girl Hodo. She was displaced from the east of Somaliland by the drought, and has lived in a makeshift camp for one year.
London, 15 Sha’ban 1438/12 May 017 (MINA) – British Prime Minister Theresa May on Thursday urged the international community to offer more humanitarian, economic and security support for Somalia, which has been hit by famine and drought.
May opened a conference on Somalia with a call to help President Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, who attended the gathering, “in building a more secure, stable and prosperous future for all the people of Somalia.”
She highlighted “deep challenges” remaining despite progress in security and famine relief since Britain hosted its first such conference in 2012.
Somali-led security is essential for the nation’s political and economic progress, May said.
“In what was once called the world’s most dangerous place, we can defeat the terrorists, keep them out and bring Somalia the stability and prosperity it deserves.”
Farmajo said his country’s insecurity could not be improved without “addressing its root causes, which is abject poverty and mass unemployment.”
“Too many of our young generation are sitting idle, creating fertile ground for terrorists to recruit from,” he said in a speech. “We must tackle this issue with a robust economic recovery plan.”
Farmajo urged international governments to help Somalis to transfer funds more easily, saying his country’s money transfer businesses receive some 2 billion dollars annually but are “struggling to access banks” in Britain and the United States.
He said his government is working with international partners to lift a UN arms embargo and give Somalia’s security forces access to better weapons for fighting terrorists.
May proposed a new four-year partnership requiring Farmajo to “commit to the development of an inclusive and federal democratic state” in exchange for international support for Somalia’s economic recovery.
Tragic and hopeful
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said the London conference aimed to “support Somalia at a moment which is both tragic and hopeful.”
“We are here to listen to Somalia’s leadership, and to agree on a framework for cooperation,” Guterres said.
According to UN estimates, more than 6 million people – about half the population – are facing food insecurity in the Horn of Africa country where a 2011 famine claimed over 250,000 lives.
Some 1.4 million children are facing acute malnourishment in Somalia, this year, including 275,000 who have or are expected to suffer life-threatening acute malnutrition this year, the UN children’s fund UNICEF said last week.
The World Health Organization (WHO), the UN’s health agency, warned that ongoing drought has “plunged the country further towards famine, disease, and health insecurity.”
The WHO estimated that more than 3.3 million Somalis are going hungry every day.
It urged the conference participants to “take decisive action” to help meet Somalia’s immediate health sector needs totalling 103 million dollars this year, which are only 23-per-cent funded.
The European Union pledged an extra 200 million euros (218 million dollars) on Thursday for security, economic and political programmes in Somalia. (T/RS5/RS1)
Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)
