NAIROBI, Kenya (June 20, 2008) - The recent abduction of a second CARE staff member in the region of south-central Somalia has prompted the international aid agency to immediately suspend all of its operations in the area of Galgadud, one of the hardest hit regions of Somalia in terms of number of internally displaced people and people affected by drought.
"The suspension of our operations in the region of Galgadud has a direct impact on the lives of many Somalis who are already suffering from the consequences of prolonged conflict and drought," says David Gilmour, country director for CARE in Somalia.
"It is extremely distressing to know that due to the current levels of insecurity we will no longer be able to provide emergency food assistance to more than 250,000 people in Galgadud. Equally sad is that close to 400 primary school teachers and 5,000 school children, half of whom are girls, will not benefit from a recently commenced education program in the same region."
CARE officials say that even the rehabilitation of boreholes and shallow wells, an essential component for effective long term management of a scarce resource like water, will be suspended due to recent events. This means that close to 60,000 people will no longer benefit from a reliable and safe water supply, a situation that is likely to escalate existing conflicts over scarce resources and impact the health of the most vulnerable community members.
"Our staff are exposed to an environment that is increasingly being defined by specific and targeted attacks against humanitarian aid workers," says Gilmour. "The prevailing climate of impunity and lack of accountability by all armed parties has acutely jeopardized the humanitarian imperative to respond to those in need within the present context in Somalia. We will, however continue to assess the situation before resuming operations in Gagadud region."
Since the beginning of 2008, a total of 15 staff of local and international organizations has been murdered in Somalia. In none of these cases have any parties or individuals been held to account in relation to these deaths. The recent abduction brings to 8 the number of humanitarian workers being held illegally throughout the country.
CARE has been working in Somalia since 1981, implementing a number of projects across all Somali regions. Current interventions include education, food assistance, water and sanitation, emergency, pastoralist activities, civil society development and agriculture to approximately 950,000 people throughout Somalia. Although CARE is active in all the regions of Somalia, most projects are concentrated in the south and central regions, where livelihoods have been most affected by conflict and periodic cycles of flood and drought. It is estimated that approximately 2.6 million Somalis are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance.
