Somalia

Somalia has been without a central government since 1991. Thus instability of the state has provoked more insecurity which is directly influencing poverty in Somalia. The southern region of the country is at a state of anarchy, but the northern area has a unilaterally declared independent Somaliland, and independent Puntland State of Somalia has a relatively stable and secure with real government institutions. However, all conflicts between the regions only irritate the already high poverty country. In 2004, Somalia Transnational Federal Government has established with an elected president in efforts for peace in the region. Although, Somalia continues to be one of the poorest countries among the world, there has been barely any discussion on poverty related issues at a national or regional level. Somalia is classified as a least developed, low-income food deficit country and is ranked as one of the most food insecure countries in the world.

Due to the split and unstable government, poverty has been provoked, especially in the southern region. The latest report estimates 43% of the population to be in extreme poverty among the 73.4% estimated general poverty (UNDP). Somalia is classified as least developed, low-income food-deficit country. Due to the instability of the government, Somali’s suffer from extended droughts and poor rains over the years. Nevertheless, Somalia’s economic activities still continue partly because most activities are local and relatively easily protected. Livestock and agriculture, which counted about 40% of GDP and 65% of export earnings, are the most important sectors. Nomads and semi-nomads make up about half of the population. Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states imposed import ban in Somali livestock. As a result, it has severely reduced economic activities and incomes in the sector.

All regions of Somalia are filled with extremist groups, war lords, and factional rivalry affiliated with violence and human suffering widespread throughout the country. Thus the security situation is dangerous, fluid and unpredictable. There are child soldiers for the war lords and actions against it have been taken. In hope of returning to normalcy and security, a new parliament, Transnational Federal Government (TFG) has been set up with an elected president, Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed. However, there has been little progress on resolving any regional and clan disputes. In the charts made in 2006 by the Freedom House, Somalia is categorized as a country with no civil liberties or political rights. There is fear of terrorists’ threats and activities in Somalia in the international community due to Somalia’s unstable government.

Frequent faction fighting, kidnappings, threats to human rights defenders and other human rights violations, people of Somalia flee from Somalia to neighboring countries in order to seek for security. However, criminal rates go up when these refugees go to other countries. Thus, leading countries such as Kenya to encourage the police to capture and return the Somalis back to the country. When the refugees and asylum seekers are caught by the police, they are subject to police harassments. There have been efforts by civil societies in the international community to push Kenya and other countries to accept the refugees and make policies for protection, yet there has been no practical protection for them.

In Somalia, there are also 400,000 people in internal displacement camps and they live in extreme poverty. This humanitarian crisis is aggravated by inaccessibility to medical care and other aids due to fighters and war lord’s inference in receiving basic needs.

Minority groups are socially discriminated and abused, including murder, rape and clan members acting with impunity. For women, Women’s organization also campaigned against violence against women. There are female genital mutilation, rape – especially internally displaced women, and domestic violence. Somalia journalists are persecuted; they are threatened or detained and some killed. In 2005, despite death threats to the organizers of a conference on Freedom of Rights of Journalists in Mogadishu, a National Union of Somali Journalists was established.

Human rights defenders and organization continue to monitor and report on human rights violations despite continuing death threats. Currently, 2006, Mogadishu is the only capital in the world where the UN does not have access for international humanitarian staff due to insecurity regardless of all people who live internally displaced.

Until very recently, little was known about the scope of HIV transmission in Somalia. A survey carried out in 2004 by the World Health Organization indicates that the virus is present in most of the country. However, infection levels are still low. The survey of 2005 state HIV prevalence among pregnant women nationally was 0.6%, with the highest infections level in the capital Mogadishu of 0.9% and lowest in Merca where hardly any infections were detected. In contrast, 4% of people who are sexually transmitted infections are found to be HIV-positive and majority of those were at one clinic in Mogadishu. In other words, the epidemic is concentrated in the capital. HIV transmission awareness is very poor and there is seldom condom use. Only 13% of young men aged 15-24 years had ever used a condom, and a mere 5% of young women have used condom.

Somalia has been polio-free since 2002, however one case of a 15 month old girl was discovered in 2005. In 2006, two new cases of poliomyelitis have been reported from two new regions: Lower Juba, southern Somalia and Mudug region, northern Somalia. These regions present a risk to neighboring countries with security-related restrictions.

Since the outbreak of Meningococcal disease in Somalia in 2001, the Ministry of Health, has reported a total of 144 cases including 33 deaths. A crisis committee has been set up by the Ministry of Health, the Somali Red Crescent Society, Médecins sans Frontières, UNICEF and WHO.

There exist unending food insecurity and high malnutrition levels that continue in the southern parts of Somalia. Southern Somalia is classified to be at moderate risk of Humanitarian Emergency.

The increasing dryness of the Somali climate and excessive timber cutting and overgrazing has led to deforestation and extended the desert. Somalia can expect two years of drought within several years of this trend. There is a serious threat to the agricultural sectors and human habitation because of the overgrazing between Mogadishu and Chisimayu. Somalia has 6 cubic kilometers of renewable water resources, and 97% is used for farming, 3% used for urban and domestic use. Only 26% of entire Somali population has access to safe drinking water.

Somalia not only has a large livestock herd, but also has one of the most abundant and varied stocks of wildlife in Africa. The Earth Trend reports no protected nature reserves, wilderness areas, and national parks. Hunting and trapping antelope and gazelles for their skins was banned in 1969, however, many species continues to be harmfully affect by growing numbers of livestock, elimination from watering spots by human settlement, and the cutting of bush vegetation and tree cover.

The tsunami in December 2004 reached the Somali coast and destroyed the livelihoods of thousands of Somalis in the Puntland region.

Somalia continually experiences drought for several years, especially southern Somalia. The Transitional Federal Government’s president appealed on the 27th of December 2005, to the international community – the UN agencies and International NGOs – for urgent humanitarian assistances to the ‘drought devastated’ areas across southern Somalia. An estimated 2 million population and all the livestock are thought to be affected.

Due to insecurity of the region there is not much information about Somalia’s education, the World Research Institute indicates the literacy rate of the total population is at 37.8% in its most recent studies; 49.7% of males and 25.8% of females. Age 15 years and over can read and write. There is no legal grantee of education in Somalia. However, despite the circumstances, in 2005 where continuous war has destroyed families and institutions, communities are realizing the importance of education for all. As a result of the war, today, only 13% of boys are enrolled in primary school and 7% of girls.

Since the outbreak of war in 1991, school buildings were torn down and educational materials looted. The years of conflict have exacted a heavy toll from the systems that children once relied on for support. Locally-managed Community Education Committees have stepped up to fill the void of no central government. This committee manages schools financially, network with parents, and track students – especially girls – who are out of school. As of 2005, Community Education Committees have been set up in 90% of schools across the country.

Continuous poverty and regional gaps makes the problem worse. More than half of the students are located in central and southern Somalia, whereas low numbers in the northeast and northwest zones. Over a quarter of all teachers work for no salary at all and only 12% among the teachers are female. There has been an average increase of 28% of primary school enrollment since 2002 to 2005.

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