AMISOM wraps up a two-day workshop on facilitating humanitarian access

The Africa Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) has concluded  a two-day workshop aimed at improving relationship between the military, civilians and humanitarian actors to make better the delivery of aid in the Horn of Africa nation.

The work which held in Southern town, Baid brought together civilians, AMISOM officers, Somali Force, ,  AMISOM Humanitarian, Civil Affairs and Gender Units to solve the challenges hindering the delivery of aid in the nation including reducing competition and minimize conflicts between military and humanitarian actors .

In a statement issued after the meeting, AMISOM Major Fasil Yigzaw said the workshop was mainly focused on facilitation of humanitarian assistance, and how to address the challenges in Somalia.

“The workshop was mainly focused on how we can coordinate and what guidelines are in place to effectively facilitate humanitarian access to people in need,” said  Yigzaw.

AMISOM Humanitarian Liaison Unit Officer Jackson Robert Basoronga said the objective of the workshop was to create awareness and understanding among military and police on the basic concepts and principles of humanitarian civil-military coordination as well as understanding the roles and responsibilities of federal states, humanitarian organization and the military.

The participants also discussed AMISOM’s civil-military guidelines and the mission’s involvement in provision of armed escorts to humanitarian convoys.

Mohamed Ibrahim Abdi, a member of the Somali National Army, said the country’s military had a crucial role in facilitating humanitarian access.

“We attended a training on how we can facilitate humanitarian access to people in need, and the role of the Somali National Army in facilitating access in order to provide assistance when there are natural disasters or complex emergencies,” Abdi added.