UN Special Humanitarian Envoy visits Somalia, meets Somali refugees in Kenya, and calls for Muslim solidarity as Ramadan begins

(Nairobi, 28 August 2008) - United Nations Special Humanitarian Envoy, Mr. Abdul Aziz Arrukban, on Wednesday witnessed first-hand the humanitarian suffering afflicting the Somali people during his visit to Wajiid in South Central Somalia. He also had the opportunity to see the Dagahaley refugee camp in north-eastern Kenya, home to more than 55,000 Somali refugees.

"In Somalia, I witnessed the devastating triple effect of drought, conflict and soaring food prices. Families are desperate, food is scarce or non-existent and women and children are bearing the brunt of the suffering. However, I am encouraged to see that humanitarian agencies are present and visible on the ground and their assistance is having a critical impact on saving Somali lives, alleviating their suffering and safe-guarding their livelihoods. Assisting Somalis in their own country is difficult but certainly not impossible", Mr. Arrukban said.

In the Dagahaley camp in north-eastern Kenya, some 80 km from the officially closed border to Somalia, Mr. Arrukban met newly arrived refugees who have fled the violence and insecurity as well as the drought in Somalia. The Dagahaley camp is one of three camps which make up the Dadaab camp complex, with a total population of 210,000 refugees, nearly 97 percent of whom are Somalis. This year alone, there have been 38,000 new arrivals in the complex.

"We need to scale up and speed up our support. My personal conviction and also our collective conscience tell us to take action. Today, as we are about to enter the Holy month of Ramadan, I urge the international community, and in particular the global Muslim community, to exercise their moral and religious duty in support of the Somali people," said Mr. Arrukban.

The Special Humanitarian Envoy's visit comes in the wake of a new food security assessment from the Food Security Analysis Unit (FSAU), released on Tuesday, which paints a grim picture of the food insecurity currently afflicting Somalia, calling it the worst humanitarian situation in the last 17 years. The number of people in urgent need of food and other humanitarian assistance is now a staggering 3.2 million. This is an increase of 77 percent since the beginning of the year and represents roughly 43 percent of the total population.

Somalia is one of the countries worst affected by the general food insecurity crisis in the Horn of Africa which is driven by drought and rising food prices. It is estimated that as many as 19 million people in Africa's Horn are in urgent need of food and other humanitarian assistance.

Free photos provided by IRIN, see image search Kenya: http://www.irinnews.org/photo.aspx

For more information contact: Kate Ashton, Public Information Officer, OCHA-Somalia: + 254-735-210102 or ashton@un.org. For more information on Somalia go to: http://ochaonline.un.org/somalia