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The Federal Government of Somalia and aid agencies launched the 2019 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) on Monday this week (January 21), calling on donors to provide sufficient and early funding to sustain aid operations in Somalia in 2019. The response plan seeks $1.08 billion to support to 3.4 million Somalis affected by conflict, climatic shocks, and displacement. It noted that improvements in the food security situation due to good 2018 Gu rain, a sustained humanitarian response throughout 2018 and a more focused definition of needs have resulted in a 32% decline in the number of people in need of humanitarian assistance, from 6.2 million to 4.2 million. Nevertheless, over 1.5 million people, mainly IDPs and rural populations, face acute levels of food insecurity (IPC 3 and above) and require immediate assistance. Malnutrition rates across the country have remained persistently high and there were over 2.6 million internally displaced persons, highly vulnerable and in need of multiple basic services and protection.

Hamza Said Hamza, the Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management said the response plan clearly articulated the government’s position that humanitarian needs in Somalia cannot be addressed by the delivery of life-saving assistance alone. He called on donors to prioritize programs that tackle structural and chronic development challenges in Somalia. He said: “We are committed to work[ing] with all partners to move ahead with implementing durable solutions through the Resilience and Recovery Framework for Somalia, while the humanitarian response plan focuses on the immediate needs of the most vulnerable.” Peter de Clercq, the Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia said, “I urge the international community to continue providing early and sufficient humanitarian funding. Alongside life-saving support, a substantial investment in resilience-building and development solutions will be critical to ultimately end need and allow people to fend for themselves with dignity.”

Last year, despite operational challenges, insecurity and restraints on access, aid agencies reached an average of three million people every month with assistance. The Humanitarian Response Plan aims to target 3.4 million people, or 81% of those in need of assistance; and it will focus on four core strategic objectives: providing life-saving assistance, nutrition, protection and resilience support to the most vulnerable

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Embassy of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, London, UK.