The situation began to improve following reasonable Deyr rains during October to December 2011, and in February 2012, the FSNAU and FEWS NET announced that famine conditions had receded. Other factors that contributed to this improvement included a slight decrease in the price of food, enhanced access to food and the positive impact of humanitarian assistance.Since then, the picture has been mixed. The main Gu rains (April to June) 2012 were below average and uneven in their geographical coverage while the Deyr rains (October – December) 2012 were average in most parts of the country.
Despite a consistent improvement of the overall situation, according to FSNAU data of February 2013, there are still some 1 million people remaining in ‘crisis and emergency’ throughout the country. A further 1.7 million rural and urban dwellers are considered to be ‘stressed’, meaning that they are struggling to meet their daily needs.Malnutrition (GAM) rates nationwide have fallen since the height of the crisis in 2011 from 30 percent and currently stand at 14.33 percent. Despite having fallen by half, malnutrition rates in Somalia are high and the nationwide GAM rate still hovers around the World Health Organisation’s emergency threshold of 15 percent. Any gains made in food security and nutrition could be lost without continued humanitarian assistance as the situation must be considered fragile, with communities recovering from many seasons of failed rains and subsequent drought. Meanwhile, insecurity and conflict continue to contribute to poor household food security and high malnutrition rates.
WFP’s focus during the past year has been and through 2013 will continue to be on longer-term recovery programmes. These are aimed at providing responses that help to enhance the resilience of an individual or community by increasing household income, providing basic services and establishing predictable ‘safety nets’ to address basic needs.
WFP will continue to focus on nutrition programmes that support the most vulnerable elements of the population, namely women and children. Through supplementary feeding programmes and, where possible, through health centres, WFP provides specialised nutritional food products to treat and prevent malnutrition. At times of greater need, during lean or dry seasons, a family ration is included as there is a likelihood of other family members also being malnourished.
To assist communities and strengthen their resilience to shocks, such as drought or floods, there are community asset-building programmes that include the construction of reservoirs, wells and roads. WFP continues to expand its school meals programme which ensures that school-going children receive a cooked meal each day during term time. This has the added benefit of increasing school attendance and promoting the well-being of future generations.
While continuing to provide targeted emergency or relief assistance when needed, WFP’s 2013 programmes aim to help some 1.56 million people cope more effectively with hardships that might affect themselves and their communities.
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