Red Cross Blogs

Interview: distributing food in famine-struck Somalia

By Katrina Crew
August 25, 2011 at 3:54 pm

Yves Van Loo is the International Committee of the Red Cross’ (ICRC) spokesperson for Somalia. He describes how the Red Cross and Somali Red Crescent have been helping people suffering from famine.

1. What has the ICRC delivered in Somalia so far and where has it been delivered?

We have delivered 3,000 tons of food – one month’s ration of food for 162,000 people in eight provinces in the south of Somalia. The food ration consists of rice, beans and oil.

The distributions have been well organised. ICRC staff work with the support of the Somali Red Crescent and we are able to target the most vulnerable of the vulnerable, whether they were displaced people or living in urban areas.

2. How have people responded to the distributions?

This was the first food distribution for the last two years, and we were able to reach all the places so the people were really happy.

It’s vital that we take assistance directly to beneficiaries. When people have to leave their homes to get help, it can create more problems. Malnourished people are weak; travelling risks their lives. If farmers leave their homes, who will harvest?

3. How will the ICRC be helping people through the end of the year?

The situation in Somalia depends on the rainy season, and the next one is forecast for October. You won’t get a harvest before December or January. We plan to expand the number of beneficiaries receiving food rations and hope to reach 1.1 million people with our support by the end of the year.

We’ve also opened ten more outpatient therapeutic feeding programmes. We extended the coverage of these centres by setting up mobile teams that can reach people in very remote areas and treat them on the spot or refer them. We’ve set up additional services like the wet feeding programme (where we give malnourished people porridge) and expanded programmes to vulnerable women, including breastfeeding and pregnant women.

Besides this, we also have our longer-term sustainable agriculture programmes – helping farmers improve their crops by giving them seeds and agricultural resources (like ploughs and fertilisers) and training. And we have water specialists improving boreholes, which can help people survive drought.

4. What kind of access does the ICRC have in famine-hit areas of Somalia?

We have full access. We work with the acceptance of all groups and authorities. When we meet them, we introduce ourselves and explain our principles of neutrality and impartiality. People understand that we want to conduct the whole operation ourselves. When this is accepted, we don’t have problems working.

And we are very transparent. We explain to beneficiaries and authorities what we are going to do.

5. Since Somali Red Crescent volunteers are local people, how does that help you access difficult areas?

We share the same principles and values, and we can mobilise additional skilled Red Cross staff thanks to the Somali Red Crescent’s network. Both the ICRC and the Somali Red Crescent have contacts with the authorities and have staff from the communities who know the culture and customs. We are more than complementary.

Donate to the East Africa Food Crisis Appeal

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Tags: East Africa, famine, food crisis, food insecurity, Somalia

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This entry was posted on Thursday, August 25th, 2011 at 3:54 pm and is filed under Emergencies, International. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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