UNICEF Seeks 189 mln USD to Help Somali Children

MOGADISHU, Xinhua: The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Tuesday that it has appealed for 189.1 million U.S. dollars to scale up its response to displaced children and vulnerable families in Somalia in 2024.

UNICEF said donors had provided 4.9 million dollars as of February for cholera and malnutrition prevention, mitigation, and response, water supply, hygiene and sanitation, child protection, education in emergencies, immunization, prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse, and accountability to affected populations.

“As competition for humanitarian resources increases exponentially across the globe, further discussions are underway on improving fundraising approaches and boosting investments for low-cost, high-impact interventions, and resilience-building initiatives,” it said in a report released in the Somali capital of Mogadishu.

According to UNICEF, children in Somalia are at high risk of intense flooding, including flash floods and riverine floods, during the first part of the 2024 Gu rainy season (from March to early April), when the El Nino phenomenon is forecast to persist.

It said some 68,676 children, among them 31,775 girls affected by emergencies, are accessing temporary learning spaces across 12 disaster-affected districts in Somalia.

“UNICEF is strengthening its partnerships with existing public sector donors while strategizing on new collaborations with the private sector,” it added.