Brief background of Puntland
Puntland State is geographically located in the eastern portion of Somalia with a total area of 212.510 km2, (roughly one-third of Somalia’s geographical area. It has an estimated population of four million. The State currently consists of nine regions with an effective self administration since 1998 and it harbours more than one million internally displaced people froth the south central Somalia due to its relative peace and stability compared with the war torn south. The drought has severely affected all regions in Puntland with no exception.
The scale of the suffering
Severe drought is stifling all parts of Somalia in general and Puntland regions in particular causing deadly famine, acute food shortage, drying up of wells and bonds due to failure of three consecutive rainfalls (Dayr in 2015, Gu’ and Dayr in 2016 ). To alleviate the sufferings of drought affected people, this requires our brothers to take swift actions in support of the needy people in terms of delivering urgent food aid, medical supplies, repairing broken wells and drilling new boreholes.
According to the official statistics of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management Agency (HADMA) of Puntland, there are an estimated 1 million and two hundred fifty thousand (1,250.000) people affected by the drought in Puntland, especially those in the rural and nomadic areas who have lost their animals and fled to neighboring towns in search of food and water for their children and their remained animals.
Urgent needs of drought affected people
- Provide the necessary food items including water, dates, flour, rice, sugar, cooking oil, and other dietary and nutritional requirements for the affected people.
- Provide medical supplies to the affected people
- Provide clothes and blankets
- Launching job creation opportunities for those affected by the drought to enable them to manage their lives after losing their basic living means.
- Mitigate effects of the drought by burying or burning died animals to prevent outbreak of diseases.
- Provide counseling and psychologiqalsupport with affected people.
Abdihakeem Abdullahi Omar Amay
Puntland vice-president
vp@plstate.so
