IFRC And Iranian Red Crescent Sign Agreement To Strengthen Resilience And Improve Food Security In Somalia And Kenya

The Red Crescent Society of the Islamic Republic of Iran and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) will support 5,000 vulnerable families in Somalia and Kenya, through a Hunger Resilience and Food Security partnership signed yesterday by the leaders of the two organizations.

The programme, which will be implemented in collaboration with the Somali Red Crescent Society and the Kenya Red Cross Society, will target communities affected by one of Africa’s most protracted and yet often overlooked humanitarian crises.

Successive cycles of extreme drought and floods in Somalia, combined with the consequences of decades of violence and insecurity, have left many communities without access to durable livelihoods and exposed to chronic food insecurity.

As a result, millions of people have fled their homes to other parts of Somalia or into neighbouring Kenya.

Elhadj As Sy, the Secretary General of the IFRC, said the prolonged nature of the humanitarian crisis in Somalia and northern Kenya had created a sense of apathy among many donors.

“The crisis currently facing millions of people in the region is avoidable and therefore unacceptable,” he said. “This agreement will help us alleviate the impacts of this crisis on a group of particularly vulnerable people. It will make them stronger and more resilient to future shocks.

Source: Reliefweb