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Due to resource constraints, IRIN is not updating the country profile below.
Updated humanitarian country information can be found instead at the Somalia country page on ReliefWeb [http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/dbc.nsf/doc104?OpenForm&rc=1&cc=som].
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 The Somali Democratic Republic
Humanitarian Country Profile |
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Background
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Last update: May 2008 |
Somalia has been without an effective central government since President Siad Barre was overthrown in 1991.
Northern clans declared an independent Republic of Somaliland in 1991. The regions of Bari, Nugaal and northern Mudug comprise the neighbouring self-declared autonomous region of Puntland, which has been self-governing since 1998, but does not seek independence.
In October 2004 the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) was established in the rest of Somalia under President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed, but effective governance has yet to be established.
The Union of Islamic Courts (UIC) took control of the capital, Mogadishu, in June 2006 and extended its authority over much of southern and central Somalia, challenging the legitimacy of the TFG. Despite international support, the TFG has a limited power base and is largely paralysed.
In late December the UIC was ousted from Mogadishu and much of southern Somalia by Ethiopian-backed TFG forces. However, the TFG and Ethiopian forces were still fighting the UIC in Mogadishu and much of south and central Somalia in April 2008. The insurgents had temporarily seized and later lost control of 10 towns.
Peace and security
Somaliland has been generally peaceful and has a functioning administration. Puntland has also been generally peaceful though several aid workers have been kidnapped in the past six months, and security in the rest of the country is worse.
An increasing number of people were being driven from their homes in Mogadishu due to intensified fighting, including shelling in April 2008. Up to 100 people were killed in clashes between Ethiopian forces and insurgents on 19-20 April 2008.
Just over one year after the African Union Mission to Somalia (AMISOM) deployed its first peacekeepers to Mogadishu in March 2007, assessments of its performance and relevance remain mixed.
Apart from providing VIP escorts, AMISOM has limited itself to conducting confidence-building patrols within its area of operations and to protecting the airport, seaport and the presidential residence in Mogadishu. It also receives surrendered weapons, provides some humanitarian support to the local population and escorts humanitarian organisations.
"The deployment of AMISOM needs to be accelerated in order to effectively assist in the stabilisation of the country,” AU Commission chairman Alpha Konare said in a report to the AU Peace and Security Council on 18 January 2008.
According to the AU, AMISOM is grossly underfunded, with only about US$32 million of the mission’s US$622 million budget contributed so far.
The lack of security is affecting the ability of aid organisations to respond to emergencies.
IDPs/Refugees
There are growing numbers of internally displaced persons (IDPs) following intensified fighting in Mogadishu and also as a result of severe drought in some parts of the country.
"In total, the UN estimates that 700,000 people were displaced from Mogadishu and its environs during 2007," UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a report issued on 18 March 2008. "The vast majority of them are fleeing from the ‘war zone’ in the capital to the ‘hunger zone’ in the Lower and Middle Shabelle regions."
Some estimates put the current IDP population at 750,000, and up to 20,000 people have been leaving Mogadishu every month in recent months.
In March 2008 the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) reported that large numbers of families displaced by violence in Somalia were surviving on less than one meal a day and spending a large proportion of their meagre income buying drinking water. It said shortages of food and water had become life-threatening in the regions of Mudug, Galgadud, Nugaal and Bakool.
The fighting in Mogadishu, general poverty and drought was also prompting more Somalis to risk their lives in dangerous and illegal sea-crossings to Yemen in search of a better life. According to the UNHCR, over 8,000 Africans, mostly Somalis, arrived in Yemen in the first two months of 2008, compared to 2,946 in the first two months of 2007.
“In less than a month, we have seen a dramatic increase in people-smuggling from Somalia, with over 1,600 arrivals in Yemen aboard some 20 boats,” UNHCR spokesman Ron Redmond told a press briefing in Geneva in early 2008.
There are currently more than 88,000 registered refugees in Yemen, of whom 84,000 are Somalis.
Somali refugees have also fled to Kenya, with the Kenyan authorities temporarily closing the border to more refugees in early 2007.
Democracy and governance
The lack of a permanent central government has contributed to Somalia's status as one of the poorest and most volatile countries in the world.
The TFG under President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed is struggling to establish control in many areas. Attacks on Ethiopian and government positions by insurgents suspected to be remnants of the UIC, and clan militias, take place almost daily.
Political loyalties are based on clan and region rather than party, with society highly fragmented, which makes the sustainability of a centralised political system difficult.
The lack of a central banking system was leading to the illegal printing of money and inflation, causing further hardship.
Media
The transitional federal charter guarantees freedom of the press, but the political situation in Somalia does not provide any framework for regulation or protection of these freedoms, according to the UN Development Programme (UNDP).
Amnesty International says journalists in Somalia have frequently been arbitrarily arrested by the authorities, and have faced death threats, unfair trials, physical violence, ill-treatment and other forms of harassment.
The TV and press sectors are weak and radio is the dominant medium. There are around 20 radio stations, but no national, domestic broadcaster. Many listeners tune to Somali-language media based abroad, in particular the BBC Somali service.
Press freedom body Reporters Without Borders warned in late 2006 that, under the UIC "Somalia is in the process of becoming a forbidden area for the independent press." (see BBC's Somalia country profile)
In Puntland and Somaliland, press freedom is constitutionally guaranteed, but has been restricted.
On 21 May 2008 IRIN began broadcasting humanitarian news and information to Somalia on 13685 kHz in the 21 metre band, from 0830-0845 GMT daily.
Economy
The country is highly dependent on agriculture, with livestock accounting for about 40 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and about 65 percent of export earnings. Livestock, hides, fish, charcoal, and bananas are Somalia's principal exports, while sugar, sorghum, corn, khat and machinery are the principal imports.
The GDP per capita average annual growth rate from 1970-1990 was -0.9 percent. More recent statistics are not available.
Lack of infrastructure, investment, unemployment and environmental degradation are severe barriers to economic recovery.
The TFG has not been able to effectively collect taxes. There is no Finance Ministry and much of the national banking system collapsed during the civil war.
In 2008 inflation was beginning to become a serious concern, with reports suggesting that Puntland had been hard hit by a currency scam (see above under Democracy and governance).
However, despite the lack of institutions, the country's service industry is thriving, with telecommunication firms providing wireless services in most big towns. Somalia offers some of the lowest international calling rates in Africa.
The Somali community abroad is estimated to remit up to US$1 billion per year, and, as well as traditional donors, Muslim agencies provide substantial support to the social sectors.
Population
The population is estimated at 8.7 million (UN, 2007). The UK’s Department of International Development (DFID) puts the estimate at 7.7 million. However, the numbers are not considered reliable as there has not been a census since 1987.
The years of conflict with resulting low levels of infrastructure and high numbers of IDPs have also made health and population data difficult to obtain.
Somali women average about six births each.
Somali is the main language with several dialects - Common Somali, Coastal Somali (spoken on the Banaadir Coast), and Central Somali (spoken in the inter-riverine area). English and Italian are used at university level while Arabic is used in religious contexts. Indigenous languages include various dialects of Afar and Boni.
Most Somalis are Sunni Muslims. Nomads and semi-nomads, who are dependent on livestock for their livelihood, make up a large proportion of the population.
Development indicators
The maternal mortality ratio is estimated to be as high as 1,100 deaths per 100,000 live births; child mortality rates are as high as 225 per 1,000 live births and life expectancy at birth is about 44 years. The adult mortality rate is high at 524 for males and 428 for women per 1,000 people, according to the UN World Health Organization's World Health Report 2006.
Less than 30 percent of the country has access to safe water.
The statistics for per capita GDP, purchasing power parity and the percentage of the population living below the national poverty line are unavailable, although Somalia has been classified as a low income country by the World Bank.
According to DFID: “There are no recent official figures for human development indicators. Somalia was ranked 161 out of 163 countries in 2001 on the UN Development Programme's (UNDP's) Human Development Index, and Somalia is considered a low-income country with an estimated 45 percent of the population living on less than $1 a day. There are high levels of disease and hunger and poor social and economic indicators (on life expectancy, literacy and access to clean water).”
Education
Education statistics for Somalia are scant as a result of the civil unrest in the country since 1991. According to the UNDP, Somalia has among the lowest literacy rates in the world, with 26 percent female and 50 percent male literacy in 2001.
The absence of governmental institutions has resulted in a primary school enrolment rate of about 20 percent. According to UNICEF, net primary school enrolment was estimated at 13 percent for boys and 7 percent for girls.
Children
The main causes of death among children are diarrhoeal diseases, respiratory infections and malaria (an estimated 87 percent of Somalis are at risk of malaria).
Malnutrition is also rampant, with acute malnutrition afflicting 17 percent of the children, according to UNICEF, which also says 20 percent of children under five are underweight.
The nomadic lifestyle of Somalia's rural population makes regular immunisation programmes difficult to implement. Measles and cholera are serious threats against which few children have been vaccinated.
UNICEF and its partners have created a network of child-protection advocates to aid vulnerable children in more than 75 communities. Action plans have also been developed on issues such as sexual abuse, female genital mutilation/cutting and child prostitution.
UNAIDS estimated in 2006 that 4,500 children aged 0-14 were living with HIV and that there were 23,000 orphans aged 0-17 due to AIDS.
Health
Much of the population lacks access to basic healthcare and there is an acute shortage of trained medical personnel. However, one notable success was achieved recently: In March 2008 Somalia was declared polio-free.
Considerable resources have been invested by the international community in rehabilitating the water and sanitation systems, but extensive contamination of surface supplies remains a problem, with only 29 percent of the population having access to clean drinking water, according to the UN Population Fund (UNFPA).
Life expectancy at birth is 43 years for men and 45 years for women (UNAIDS)
HIV/AIDS
The HIV/AIDS prevalence rate among adults aged 15-49 is estimated at 0.9 percent, with 44,000 people living with HIV, according to UNAIDS (2006).
At least 3.3 percent of pregnant women are receiving treatment to reduce mother-to-child transmission. Only one percent of HIV-infected women and men are receiving antiretroviral therapy. UNAIDS also estimates that only 12.5 percent of men and 7.9 percent of women are able to correctly identify ways to prevent HIV.
UNAIDS has AIDS commissions in the three Somali entities. There are plans to scale up the work of the commissions and form a tripartite Somali AIDS coordination body.
Major impediments to the HIV/AIDS response are insecurity and lack of capacity among government departments and other service providers. There is little effective Somali institutional and human capacity to develop resource-mobilisation strategies, making the response dependent on Nairobi-based international community leadership. (UNAIDS country situation analysis)
Food security
Somalia is a poorly developed, low-income, food-deficit country, according to the World Food Programme (WFP). Acute malnutrition rates are believed to be generally high, with rates above 20 percent in areas such as the Juba Valley and Gedo, Bakol and Bay regions of the south.
The situation in the south is aggravated by civil strife, insecurity and drought, while areas along the River Juba often suffer from floods. Additional food security risks include the absence of an effective central government, lack of bilateral aid, and a fragile environment.
According to UNICEF, 20 percent of children under five are underweight.
WFP has implemented a protracted relief and recovery operation in Somalia since 1999. From 1991 to mid-1999, WFP distributed 113,310 metric tonnes of food to an average 1.3 million beneficiaries a year. At least 2.2 million people are expected to benefit from food aid in Somalia from 1 August 2006 until 31 July 2008.
Puntland is currently in the grips of a severe drought.
Gender issues
Civil war and the continuing lack of a central government have had a devastating impact on Somalia's women, who, with children, are frequently victims of clan violence.
Women are estimated to make up 65 percent of the population, but only about 48 percent of all primary students are girls.
Female genital mutilation/cutting (FGM/C) is nearly universal in the country, with up to 99 percent of all girls and women having undergone FGM/C by the age of 12, according to UNFPA. No statistics exist to show prevalence trends in Somalia. According to UNICEF, it is primarily performed on girls aged 4-11 and is regarded as “cleansing” a girl child in Somali culture.
(See IRIN report: Raising awareness against FGM in Puntland)
A Ministry for Gender and Family Affairs was established in 2004. However, Somalia is not a signatory to the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).
The World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Index for 2007 lists and ranks 128 countries, but Somalia is not among them - access problems presumably preventing research.
Human rights
There is no rule of law or national system of justice in Somalia, which has been a collapsed state since 1991, according to Amnesty International.
Several death sentences have been imposed and carried out by Islamic courts and their militias in recent years, although most death sentences have been replaced by compensation negotiated between the clans of the victim and the perpetrator, according to Somali customary law.
Violence against civilians resulted in hundreds of deaths in 2005, according to UN reports. There were also numerous violations by foreign security agencies stationed in Somalia, including kidnappings, harassment, threats and arrests of persons suspected of belonging to “terrorist” groups, according to the UN delegate to Somalia, Ghanem Al-Najjar.
Humanitarian needs
Three factors, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), were responsible for the rapid deterioration in Somalia's humanitarian situation in the first quarter of 2008 - an extremely harsh dry season, increasing insecurity and high rates of inflation.
According to the Food Security Analysis Unit and Famine Early Warning Systems Network (Fews Net), the number of people facing a humanitarian emergency in the first quarter of this year increased from 315,000 in 2007 to 425,000, while there are now 745,000 IDPs as against 705,000 in 2007.
The most severely affected areas are Galgadud, Mudug, Hiiraan, and coastal Shabelle, and pockets in the Sool, Nugaal and Hawd areas in the north.
(See recent IRIN report: Harder times ahead as dry conditions, insecurity persist) |
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| Basic facts | Capital: Mogadishu
Language: Somali (official), Arabic, Italian, English
Ethnic Groups: Somali 85%, Bantu and other non-Somali 15% (including Arabs 30,000)
Religion: Sunni Muslim
Geography: Strategic location on Horn of Africa along southern approaches to Bab el Mandeb and route through Red Sea and Suez Canal
Border countries: Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya
Natural resources: uranium and largely unexploited reserves of iron ore, tin, gypsum, bauxite, copper, salt, natural gas, likely oil reserves
Agriculture products: bananas, sorghum, corn, coconuts, rice, sugarcane, mangoes, sesame seeds, beans; cattle, sheep, goats; fish
Sources: UNFPA, UNAIDS, UNICEF |
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