Search

Refugees are at high risk of food insecurity and have unique nutrition-related needs. Cooperative Extension has historically reached refugees through in-person classes. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, a series of nutrition education classes were delivered to refugee women virtually over Zoom. Understanding participants' satisfaction with this mode of delivery is essential for future nutrition education programming. Assess participants' perception of the virtual delivery of nutrition education. Somali refugee women in Utah participated in a series of 12 Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program - Education (SNAP-Ed) classes, known as Create Better Health, taught over Zoom. The curriculum was culturally adapted and delivered by a professional nutrition educator in Somali. All participants had previously participated in community education and had access to laptop computers and smartphones. After series completion, semi-structured phone interviews were conducted in Somali with participants (n=36). Audio recordings of interviews were translated into English, transcribed, and uploaded into NVivo. A multi-step process by two independent researchers was used to code and analyze the data and identify themes. Four primary themes were identified: 1) the Impact of Zoom classes on technology skills; 2) the Benefits of accessing nutrition education on Zoom; 3) the Challenges of using Zoom; and 4) the Desire for in-person classes. The overall perception of the online class experience was predominantly positive. For many women, using Zoom allowed them to access nutrition education by decreasing barriers such as childcare and transportation. While some women had challenges using Zoom, many reported that their technology skills improved because of taking the classes. However, several women expressed their preference for meeting in person instead of online. The evidence suggests that online nutrition education not only has the potential to reduce barriers to participation in nutrition education among refugees but also demonstrates a transferable effect on their technical skills. Expanded Food and Nutrition Department Funded Project [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To address ongoing food insecurity and acute malnutrition in Somalia, a broad range of assistance modalities are used, including in‐kind food, food vouchers, and cash transfers. Evidence of the impact of cash and voucher assistance (CVA) on prevention of acute malnutrition is limited in humanitarian and development settings. This study examined the impact of CVA on prevention of child acute malnutrition in 2017/2018 in the context of the Somalia food crisis. Changes in diet and acute malnutrition were measured over a 4‐month period among children age 6–59 months from households receiving household transfers of approximately US$450 delivered either as food vouchers or a mix of in‐kind food, vouchers, and cash. Baseline to endline change in children's dietary diversity, meal frequency, minimum acceptable diet (MAD), mid‐upper arm circumference (MUAC), and acute malnutrition (MUAC < 12.5 cm) were compared using difference‐in‐difference analysis with inverse probability weighting. There were no statistically significant changes in dietary diversity, meal frequency, or the proportion of children with MAD for either intervention group. Adjusted change in mean MUAC showed increases of 0.5 cm (confidence interval [CI; 0.0, 0.7 cm]) in the food voucher group and 0.1 cm (CI [−0.1, 0.4]) in the mixed transfer group. In adjusted analysis, prevalence of acute malnutrition among children under 5 years increased by 0.7% (CI [−13.4, 14.4%]) among food voucher recipients and decreased by 4.8% (CI [−9.9, 8.1%]) in mixed transfer recipients. The change over time in both mean MUAC and acute malnutrition prevalence was similar for both interventions, suggesting that cash and vouchers had similar effects on child nutrition status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The prevalence of acute malnutrition is often high in emergency-affected populations and is associated with elevated mortality risk and long-term health consequences. Increasingly, cash transfer programmes (CTP) are used instead of direct food aid as a nutritional intervention, but there is sparse evidence on their nutritional impact. We aim to understand whether CTP reduces acute malnutrition and its known risk factors.Methods/design: A non-randomised, cluster-controlled trial will assess the impact of an unconditional cash transfer of US$84 per month for 5 months, a single non-food items kit, and free piped water on the risk of acute malnutrition in children, aged 6-59 months. The study will take place in camps for internally displaced persons (IDP) in peri-urban Mogadishu, Somalia. A cluster will consist of one IDP camp and 10 camps will be allocated to receive the intervention based on vulnerability targeting criteria. The control camps will then be selected from the same geographical area. Needs assessment data indicates small differences in vulnerability between camps. In each trial arm, 120 households will be randomly sampled and two detailed household surveys will be implemented at baseline and 3 months after the initiation of the cash transfer. The survey questionnaire will cover risk factors for malnutrition including household expenditure, assets, food security, diet diversity, coping strategies, morbidity, WASH, and access to health care. A community surveillance system will collect monthly mid-upper arm circumference measurements from all children aged 6-59 months in the study clusters to assess the incidence of acute malnutrition over the duration of the intervention. Process evaluation data will be compiled from routine quantitative programme data and primary qualitative data collected using key informant interviews and focus group discussions. The UK Department for International Development will provide funding for this study. The European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations will fund the intervention. Concern Worldwide will implement the intervention as part of their humanitarian programming.Discussion: This non-randomised cluster controlled trial will provide needed evidence on the role of unconditional CTP in reducing the risk of acute malnutrition among IDP in this context.Trial Registration: ISRCTN29521514 . Registered 19 January 2016. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Newly elected President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud outlined his priorities for the country on June 9th, the day he was officially sworn in as president. Mohamud appealed for international help to stave off the famine threating his drought-stricken country. (© AFP 9/6 2022) Meanwhile heavy taxes imposed by al-Shabaab in areas it controls are making it impossible for drought-hit Somalis to cultivate crops, special envoy for drought Abdirahman Abdishakur Warsame said on June 12th. [Extracted from the article]

The private I Goobjoog Media Group i was the first to report on the group's demands, saying that it had been investigating its communications with Mogadishu traders. Traders also pay separate taxes to the government and to the al-Qaeda allied al-Shabaab militant group. [Extracted from the article]

This paper traces the emergence of Band Aid celebrity humanitarianism and its ongoing legacy, making use of Tester’s concept of ‘common-sense humanitarianism’ and Fassin’s reasoning on ‘humanitarian governance’. Using different examples of celebrity engagement during the 1983–85 famine in Ethiopia and the 2011 famine in Somalia, it argues that the, in essence, anti-political understanding of disaster propagated by celebrity humanitarians not only masks the underlying dynamics of power and of social and economic relations that underpin every famine, but at the same time manufactures a truth about ‘Africa’ and other places perceived as destitute. In doing so celebrity humanitarianism more generally legitimises a global hegemonic system characterised by increasing inequalities. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: The famine in Somalia 2011–2012 is a call for critical reflection and improvement. This article reviews lessons emerging from the series of articles in this special edition of Global Food Security, and identifies global implications for famine prevention, mitigation, and response in five key areas: the delay in response, the criteria for declaring a famine, the response, humanitarian space, and accountability. Three areas are identified for further research, including implications of Somalia 2011 for practice and policy; linkages to the resilience agenda and the imperative to prevent—not just respond to—famine; and implications for famine theory. Whether or not famines continue to be part of human existence or are finally relegated to history depends on how well we learn from the experience of Somalia 2011–2012, and how well this learning is incorporated into future policy and practice. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: In 2011 the humanitarian community faced a difficult question. Could large-scale cash transfers provide an effective alternative to food aid delivery in South Central Somalia to avert a famine? Ultimately, between August 2011 and May 2012, more than 81 million US dollars in the form of unconditional cash grants, vouchers and cash for work were provided to over 1.7 million people in South Central Somalia leading to an improvement in humanitarian conditions. Despite this eventual accomplishment, months of protracted debate went by before there was broad endorsement for large-scale cash and voucher programming, delaying critical action. While the full impact of this cash program is still being determined, lessons can already be drawn. Admittedly, in 2010 and 2011 the challenges and risks associated with successful aid delivery in Somalia were significant. The debate around cash forced agencies to re-examine these operational risks and better analyze and articulate necessary mitigation strategies, most which were not specific to cash-based responses. It also led actors to not only raise the standards for programming through the development of a Monitoring and Evaluation Framework and Inclusive Community Based Targeting tools, but also helped create forums where mistakes could be discussed and solutions found. However, delays in endorsement also exposed some of the limitations of current decision-making and funding mechanisms that may hinder humanitarian actors'' ability to act in critical circumstances. Reviewing these lessons may not only lead to an increased acceptance and scope of cash programming in Somalia, but, if applied more broadly, could lead to more effective humanitarian responses globally. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia, has been central to life, war, and peace in the country for almost two decades. Its urban characteristics, though, have been put to one side for the most part. In recent years, Mogadishu-related issues have been merged mostly into a global agenda for South and Central Somalia, resulting in the technical and coordination approaches employed in the city largely being reproductions of solutions utilised in refugee camps and rural areas. Unfortunately, urban problems require urban solutions. The aid system is just starting to discover how specific aid in cities at war should be, both from an organisational and a technical standpoint. The enhancement of aid practices in an urban setting implies, among other things, a more strategic approach to the specific spatial characteristics of the city, a more fine-tuned analysis of the technical requirements of the urban service delivery systems, and a better understanding of the role of urban institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the impact of famine in the population of Somalia. It mentions that the famine that strikes the country resulted to the death of tens of thousands of people. It states that an ongoing support to refugees was provided by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) including infrastructure, income generating project, and schools.

The article discusses the crisis in Somalia where an attack to its capital city, Mogadishu, in January 1991 ended President Mohammed Siad Barre's military dictatorship. Disorder and banditry changed all forms of government into warlords and journalist left the place and Somalia was forgotten. Starting June 1992, pictures and stories revealed how Somalia had fallen into hell from purgatory. Almost two million people died from starvation and thousands were dying everyday. In December 1992, the International Red Cross spent one-third of its worldwide budget in bringing hundred thousand tons of food to Somalia. According to the article, if Somalia does not come to order soon, it could be left to die.

El artículo discute la situación del desplazamiento interno y refugio prolongado en Somalia a consecuencia de la permanente situación de crisis política que vive el país desde la década de los noventa del siglo XX. La autora llama la atención sobre la necesidad de atención internacional a la situación somalí y de un cambio en los parámetros de ayuda humanitaria.

The article reports on the threat of famine in Somalia. According to the article, the famine threatens to affect more than half of the country's population in need of emergency assistance by the end of 2008. The fight between Ethiopian and Somali government forces has affected relief operations and killed 20 aid workers. Meanwhile, some aid groups have suspended their operations. An increased in the number of severely malnourished children at feeding centres have been noted. The article cites piracy as the major factor that hinder food aid in Somalia.

El artículo discute la necesidad de soluciones para el caso de prolongada crisis política y humanitaria que tiene lugar en Somalia desde la década de los noventa del siglo XX. El autor llama la atención sobre la inconveniencia de ayuda humanitaria prolongada, sin una política de formación para las víctimas.

The article reports on the food crisis in several African countries. According to the article, about 115,000 people in Djibouti, Somalia and 900,000 in the arid areas of northern Kenya need food aid. Meanwhile, Ugandans were facing starvation in the east and north of the country. World Food Programme (WFP) country director in Ethiopia Mohamed Diab has issued an emergency appeal.

The article reports that the Somali government has arrested Idris Osman, the country head of the World Food Program (WFP), in protest at a decision to distribute food aid through a network of mosques. The arrest of Osman prompted an immediate suspension of WFP work in Mogadishu. However, United Nation officials stated that the arrest was linked to a method of food distribution that started on October 15, 2007 using 42 local mosques to get aid to more than 75,000 people in Mogadishu. The WFP had been experiencing problem in distributing food in the capital since June 25, 2007 due to violence and looting.

The article reports on the arrival of a United Nations food aid shipment at the reopened port of Mogadishu, Somalia in early September 2006. It discusses how the reopening of the port significantly improved the distribution of humanitarian aid in drought and war-plagued Somalia. The article also reports on the reopening of the country's largest port facilities in August 2006 by Mogadishu's radical Islamist Courts.

The article reports on the agreement between seven countries to deploy security forces for maintaining peace in Somalia on March 20, 2006. The countries also agreed to establish an emergency fund to fight the worsening famine in Africa. These countries include Somalia, Kenya, Djibouti, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Uganda.