Further conflict could worsen humanitarian crisis - FAO

A United Nations agency says renewed efforts to prevent conflict in Somalia are urgently required, as further insecurity in the war-scarred Horn of Africa country could exacerbate the humanitarian crisis.

"Conflict prevention and peace efforts by all national and international actors must be strengthened," the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said in its latest report on Somalia, released on Thursday. An estimated 1.8 million people in Somalia, which has not recovered from a devastating drought earlier this year, would need urgent humanitarian aid until the end of 2006.

An escalation of violence in Somalia could significantly increase the number of people in need, according to FAO.

"This would not only prolong the time period of the crisis, but further undermine the resilience and abilities of the population to manage future shocks," said Cindy Holleman, technical coordinator of FAO's Food Security Analysis Unit for Somalia.

The humanitarian crisis was most severe in the south, where 1.1 million people face a humanitarian emergency or "acute food and livelihood crisis" and need urgent assistance. In some areas of the southern region, including Gedo and parts of Lower and Middle Juba, the nutrition situation is extremely critical, with acute malnutrition rates exceeding 20 percent, the FAO said.

About 400,000 internally displaced Somalis remain vulnerable.

The report estimated that the 2006 long rains (April-June) cereal crop in southern Somalia was about 113,000 tonnes, just 71 percent of the average during the 1995-2005 period. The below-normal harvest was primarily due to inadequate and poorly distributed rainfall. The long rains cereal crop normally accounts for 70-80 percent of annual output.

The most vulnerable groups required increased access to food, water, shelter, sanitation and health care.

Livelihood support needs included repair and maintenance of wells and water catchment areas, help in clearing fallow fields, improving irrigation infrastructure, increasing access to financial credit and debt relief and access to healthcare, for people and livestock alike.

Somalia has been without a functioning government since the overthrow of the regime of Muhammad Siyad Barre in 1991. A transitional government set up in 2004 after reconciliation talks has been unable to exert its authority because of internal divisions.

The Union of Islamic Courts took control of the capital, Mogadishu, in June and has been extending its influence in other areas of southern Somalia, putting it in conflict with the interim government, which is based in the south-central town of Baidoa.

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