Simon Ateba is Chief White House Correspondent for Today News Africa covering President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, U.S. government, UN, IMF, World Bank and other financial and international institutions in Washington and New York.
The United States, through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and The Department of State, on Tuesday, announced nearly $199 million in additional humanitarian assistance for Somalia.
The additional funding brings the total U.S. humanitarian contribution to Somalia to $408 million for Fiscal Year 2021 to date.
“The Somali people have faced decades of chronic food insecurity, violence, and cycles of drought and flooding, which have all been compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic and recurring desert locust infestations,” USAID said in a statement.
USAID said an estimated 5.9 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance in Somalia, and an estimated 3 million are internally displaced, with food insecurity and humanitarian needs continuing to worsen in recent months. More than 640,000 people from Somalia continue to seek refuge in neighboring countries.
“With this new funding, the United States will reach an estimated 758,000 people with emergency food and nutrition assistance, safe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene, shelter, protection for children and other vulnerable people, and health services including programs to help communities stop the spread of COVID-19,” added the statement by USAID. “The United States is the single largest provider of humanitarian aid in Somalia. The U.S. government remains concerned about the continuing increase in humanitarian needs and encourage other donors to step up to provide much needed support to save lives.”