UK announces close to £100m aid for Somalia and AMISOM

The United Kingdom has announced over  million pounds for Somalia to support the government and bolster humanitarian efforts in the Horn of Africa country.

The UK unveiled the new aid to Somalia as Prime Minister Theresa May visited Kenya on her last stop of a three country tour which saw her also visit South Africa and Nigeria. The aid package includes 25 million pounds to the Somali government and a further 60 million pounds for humanitarian relief efforts.

Prime Minister May’s government also announced new funding for the African Union force, AMISOM to the tune of 7 million pounds.

May said her government was committed to the stability and peace in the region adding her government will stand with partners in the war against the militant group Al-Shabaab.

Speaking during a joint conference with Kenya’s President Uhuru Kenyatta, May also said she would be signing a new security pact with Kenya adding UK troops were training with their counterparts on techniques to identify and destroy improvised explosive devices.

“The UK is no longer just training our own military in Kenya, but training with Kenyans to promote stability in East Africa and beyond and to build the continent’s capacity to overcome its own challenges and deliver its own security,” May said.

The new AMISOM aid comes at a time the AU force is facing uncertainties over funding amid calls by troops contributing countries and the African Union for sustainable funding following a 20% stipends cut by the EU in 2016. That deficit is yet to be filled.

May officially opened a cyber centre in Nairobi funded by the UK to deal with perpetrators of online child sexual abuse.

Said May, “Online child exploitation is an abhorrent crime and we are determined to ensure there is no place to hide for predators who use the internet to share images of abuse across borders, too often with impunity.”

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