The current projected number of children who are or who could be acutely malnourished, has increased by 50 per cent since the beginning of the year to 1.2 million, including over 232,000 cases of potential life-threatening severe acute malnutrition (SAM). Through the sustained response to the deteriorating nutrition situation UNICEF and partners have delivered lifesaving therapeutic treatment to 183,575 children with SAM through a network of fixed and mobile outreach service delivery sites. This cumulative number of children treated represents 66 per cent of the 2017 target, with the overall programme performance indicators consistent with Sphere standards.

UNICEF is providing pre-famine cash transfers to 22,972 households (84,354 people) in Bay and Bakool regions. The response is implemented jointly with WFP through the SCOPE platform, and both agencies are targeting the same households.

Situation in Numbers

6.2 million People in need of humanitarian assistance (FSNAU-FEWSNET Technical Release, August 2017)

1.2 million Children under-5 acutely malnourished

UNICEF 2017 Appeal-US$147.9 million

Situation Overview & Humanitarian Needs

The humanitarian situation in Somalia continues to deteriorate due to the ongoing drought. According to the latest FSNAU-FEWSNET post-Gu assessment, 6.2 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance between August and December 2017, of which 3.1 million urgently require scaled-up sustained, integrated life-saving assistance and livelihood protection. Although the situation remains critical, the slight reduction of the total number of people in need, based on food security status, down from 6.7 million in the figures projected for April-June 2017, can be primarily attributed to sustained humanitarian assistance and improved rainfall in localized areas. The drought is also uprooting people, with 916,000 people displaced since November 2016, including 130,000 people newly displaced in the month of July alone.

The current projected number of children who are, or who will be acutely malnourished, has increased by 50 per cent since the beginning of the year to 1.2 million, including over 232,000 who have or will suffer life-threatening severe acute malnutrition (SAM). The FSNAU Post-Gu 2017 results highlight that the current poor nutritional situation identified in most of the IDPs settlements and Rural Livelihood Zones will further deteriorate or remain in serious or critical situation. Further analysis on the seasonal surveys conducted by FSNAU indicates the fact that Acute Malnutrition trends in Somalia remain at emergency level of GAM/SAM threshold (see nutrition cluster graph

UNICEF-Somalia