Thousands of Families Benefit from Save the Children's Food Donation
Save the Children has concluded its first round of
food distribution through food vouchers to at least 57,000 families affected by food shortages
due to recurring droughts in Somalia. This is one of the largest numbers of beneficiaries in
the country to receive assistance from one programme.
The project is part of Short-Term Regional Emergency Response Project (STRERP) which
is funded by African Development Bank through Inter-Governmental Authority on
Development (IGAD) and implemented by Save the Children. The project covers 350
villages in 35 districts across Somalia.
The first round of food vouchers, in the form of smartcards issued to recipients, who make
purchases from participating traders equipped with point of sale mobile devices was finalised
on June 25 th . The smartcards enable the transactions be cashless end-to-end, reducing
risks of diversion and ensuring goods and services reach the intended beneficiaries.
Timothy Bishop, Country Director, Save the Children Somalia has called the distribution, “the
much needed and timely relief for Somali children and their families affected by recurring
drought.” “Many families are already feeling the impact of insufficient rains. This distribution
of food vouchers does not only ensure families in need of help, access to food, but also
boosts local economy as all the food vendors are selected from their own communities.
The project provides emergency food assistance to the most vulnerable populations in
Somalia, as well as strengthens links between the production, distribution and consumption
hubs of the food systems in the affected regions, leading to efficiency and longer-term
resilience. The targeted families will receive two more rounds of cash through the
smartcards to purchase the necessary food items.
Despite some parts of the country having received some rains in mid-May and early June,
the food security situation in Somalia is still severe. The rains came in late and were
insufficient to support crop production and meet the needs of the families who were yet to
fully recover from the 2017 drought which affected the entire country. The UN estimates at
least 5.4 million people are food insecure, including 1.7 million people who face acute food
shortages and require humanitarian assistance. This number is expected to raise to 2.2
million people by September 2019.
“In situations like this, children are the first to be affected and always bear the biggest
burden,” says Bishop. “This project will help families to survive this drought and support
them not to slip into further destitution.”
A recent needs assessment study conducted by Save the Children in March 2019, at least
73 percent of the children in the surveyed households in Puntland are consuming two or
less meals a day due to increased food prices and drought-related livestock deaths. A
similar study conducted in Somaliland in June also reported at least two thirds of the
households surveyed reported not to have sufficient food and that their food stock expected
to cover them for six days only.
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