20 Jul 2012

SOMALIA / ONE YEAR AFTER THE FAMINE

In spite of the progress made one year after the declaration of famine in parts of southern Somalia, some 3.8 million people there are still in need of assistance, the United Nations said today, appealing to countries to provide funding for humanitarian aid to. OCHA

Posted at: July 20, 2012 4:08 pm

Duration: 02:38

Available in: SD, HD

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STORY: SOMALIA / ONE YEAR AFTER THE FAMINE 
TRT: 2.38
SOURCE: OCHA
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: SOMALIA / ENGLISH / NATS

DATELINE: RECENT, DOOLOW CAMP, SOMALIA

SHOTLIST:

1. Various shots, displaced people arriving
2. Med shot, child look ahead as you hear another coughing
4. Med shot, sick child coughing 
5. Various shots, malnourished child with father
6. Close up, child feeding 
7. Wide shot, women and children at a feeding centre
8. Various shots, queues of women at a distribution point
9. Various shots, Aftina Hirow at distribution point
10. SOUNDBITE (Somali) Aftina Hirow, displaced:
"I came from Xudur in Bay region. I left my village because of hunger since I came I have been selling firewood so I can buy food for my children."
11. Wide shot, women and children queuing at distribution point
12. Various shots, irrigation scheme
13. Set up shot, Adan Aliow's set up shots working in his farm
14. SOUNDBITE (Somali) Adan Aliow, displaced farmer:
"I hope to get maize from my farm. Than will sustain my family. That is why I am putting all my effort here."
15. Wide shot, people working in farms
16. Wide shot, Mark Bowden at the food distribution point 
17. SOUNDBITE (English) Mark Bowden, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator:
"This site is looking after people who have fled either the conflict in southern Somalia or are leaving because of the current harvest failure and are concerned they will not have enough food where they live."
19. Various shots, women and children queuing

STORYLINE:

Last year hundreds of thousands of Somalis fled their homes during the famine carrying with them what belongings they could.

Tens of thousands arrived in Doolow, tired, hungry and sick.  They stopped on their to refugee camps along the Border in Ethiopia.

At the height of the famine more than two people in ten thousand were dyeing every day, most of them children.

One year later famine is no longer present in Somalia. This is largely due to the massive scale up in humanitarian assistance in southern Somalia and the exceptional harvesting at the beginning of the year.

But the humanitarian situation remains critical and a new influx of people are arriving in Doolow.

A hot meal feeding centre in Doolow is providing meals to children under five years of age; interventions such as these help push back famine.

Other methods such as food vouchers, and food for work schemes, ensure the people in more difficult to reach areas are assisted.

Twenty three year old Aftina Hirow is one of the beneficiaries of the World Food program's general food distributions,

SOUNDBITE (Somali) Aftina Hirow, displaced:
"I came from Xudur in Bay region. I left my village because of hunger since I came I have been selling firewood so I can buy food for my children."

Humanitarian actors are also building up people's livelihoods to ensure that they would be able to cope with future crisis.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and its partners set up this irrigation scheme which benefitted farmers like Adan Aliow.

Mark Bowden the Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia was in Doolow.

SOUNDBITE (English) Mark Bowden, UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator:
"This site is looking after people who have fled either the conflict in southern Somalia or are leaving because of the current harvest failure and are concerned they will not have enough food where they live."

Such interventions remain necessary in Somalia where 2.5 million people are in urgent need of aid and 1.3 million remain at risk.

By acting now to sustain the gains made in the last year we can help to avoid future catastrophes.

UN agencies and humanitarian non-governmental organizations are urging donors to provide $576 million to address the population's needs over the next six months. According to OCHA, the revised appeal for the entire year is $1.16 billion, half of which has been received.

Filed under SOMALIA .