World Vision welcomes assistance for Somalia and South Sudan

Thursday, October 29, 2015

World Vision welcomes the Australian Government’s commitment of $14 million to support the provision of humanitarian assistance in Somalia and South Sudan.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop announced today that it has committed $10 million in funding for South Sudan to support the delivery of humanitarian assistance for those impacted by ongoing conflict and violence.

The government has also committed $4 million in humanitarian assistance for Somalia.

Of the funds allocated to Somalia, $2 million will go to support the Somalia Resilience Project (SomRep), which is being implemented by a consortium of seven organisations including World Vision, Oxfam, CARE and ADRA.

World Vision is the lead agency of the consortium, which aims to increase the resilience of chronically vulnerable communities in Somalia to drought and other climate-related risks.

It achieves this through improved and diversified livelihoods, asset-preservation strategies, natural resource management, and community-based disaster risk management. The project has also supported the development of early warning systems, particularly for the effects of El Nino.

More than 3 million people in Somalia are in need of life-saving and livelihood support, while more than 1.1 million people are internally displaced.

The likely impacts of the 2015-16 El Niño events may be severe in areas characterised by some of the worst humanitarian and development indicators in the world. It is foreseen that Somalia could experience flooding in some regions and exacerbated drought conditions in others.

In South Sudan, more than 4.6 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance as a result of conflict that broke out in December 2013 and the ongoing impact of climate shocks.

The government’s commitment of $10 million will provide emergency food, water, sanitation and shelter, through the United Nations South Sudan Common Humanitarian Fund. Funding will also help to combat gender-based violence and support children who were held by armed groups to re-establish their lives.

 

Media contact:
Stuart Rintoul 0407 241 492

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