UN to launch 2018 humanitarian response plan for Somalia  

The United Nations agencies working in Somalia will next week launch the 2018 Humanitarian Response Plan which outlines the humanitarian situation and priorities for response throughout the country.

A statement from the UN Office for Coordinating of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Friday that the scaled-up humanitarian response with generous contributions from donors averted large-scale famine in the Horn of Africa nation last year.

“However, with growing and increasingly severe humanitarian needs, indications are that the effects of the prolonged drought will extend into 2018,” OCHA said.

The newly developed Plan for Somalia for 2018 reflects a commitment by aid agencies to better support Somalis in addressing the extensive humanitarian needs throughout the country.

An estimated 6.2 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance and the UN says food security needs are nearly double the five-year average, with an estimated 2.44 million people in crisis and 866,000 in emergency throughout Somalia.