Geneva, November 11: The United Nations on Tuesday warned that money was running short for crucial relief aid in Somalia, as floods forced another 16,000 people to flee their homes in the south.
The UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that a shortage of aid could prompt up to 283,000 Somalis to seek refuge abroad, adding to the refugee burden in neighbouring countries.
Some 3.6 million people inside Somalia rely on emergency aid, according to OCHA.
In recent weeks, flooding has added to the impact of conflict and drought by displacing “16,000 people in the regions of Hiraan, Gedo and Lower Shabelle,” said OCHA spokeswoman Elisabeth Byrs.
The floods came after Somalia’s two biggest rivers, the Juba and Shabelle, burst their banks, she added.
Most of the displaced had sought shelter with relatives, Byrs said.
OCHA had set up a contingency plan designed to help some 450,000 people in the event of anticipated flooding in October and November, due to forecasts of heavy rain.
But Byrs warned that the programme was blighted by broader funding problems that could have “a very negative impact on the region”.
OCHA says funding for humanitarian aid has plunged by 40 percent in a year while the number of Somalis in need of aid has doubled from 1.8 million in January 2008.
“Financing has really gone down,” Byrs added. “We are seeing a very lukewarm response from donors.”
The UN has received some 507 million dollars (339 million euros) for Somalia in 2009, including 200 million dollars it had sought last year and well short of the 850 million dollars requested.
Byrs said those suffering from hunger or food shortages in the south would add to the refugee flow if they do not receive assistance.
“In the worst case scenario, we could imagine that up to 283,000 people might leave Somalia to seek refuge in neighbouring countries,” she said.
More than half a million (561,000) Somali refugees have fled abroad, according to UN refugee agency data from January, many of them to Kenya or by attempting the perilous sea crossing to Yemen.
—Agencies