Somalia / Call for emergency water and sanitation programmes
MOGADISHU, Somalia, July 15, 2009/African Press Organization (APO)/ — Daily press briefing by the office of the spokesperson for the UN secretary-general.
Turning to Somalia, aid agencies in Somalia are appealing for a total $11 million for emergency water and sanitation programmes in that country. These programmes will provide assistance to the more than 600,000 people displaced by fighting in Mogadishu since 2007.
According to the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), humanitarian organizations are only able to supply 2 to 8 litres of water per person per day in that area. Between 7.5 and 15 litres is considered the minimum needed for survival. OCHA says that the lack of water is affecting efforts to prevent the spread of communicable diseases in overcrowded situations.
OCHA adds that UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) requires $3.3 million before the end of July to maintain life-saving operations for more than 1 million conflict-affected people, while current emergency funding allocated for non-governmental organizations is likely to be exhausted within the next two months.
SOURCE
United Nations – Office of the Spokesperson of the Secretary-General
