Nairobi, 17th December 2007 - The Italian government has pledged 450,000 euros to support UNHCR emergency activities in Somalia. The donation was done in close cooperation with the Department of Development Aid of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ambassador of Italy to the Transitional Federal Government based in Nairobi. It will help UNHCR to enhance operations aimed at improving the living conditions of internally displaced persons, who are the first victims of the current humanitarian emergency, as well as of refugees, who will be ensured better access to basic services such as shelter, food, water, health and education.

This donation follows upon the assistance the Italian government flew in last May, when 15 tonnes of aid were airlifted from Southern Italy to the Somali town of Baidoa, which were distributed by UNHCR to thousands of displaced people affected by the fighting in Mogadishu.

An estimated 600,000 civilians have fled Mogadishu this year, following violent fighting between the Ethiopian-backed Transitional Federal Government and insurgents. Most of them live in crowded settlements where they lack access to basic services and livelihood. This brings the total number of Somalis displaced within their own country to one million, as the country already numbered 400,000 protracted IDPs who have been displaced for sometimes as long as seventeen years, when the central government collapsed.

Somalia also receives asylum seekers from nearby regions. The UN refugee agency leads refugee determination status interviews in Puntland and in Somaliland, where it provides assistance to vulnerable asylum seekers as well as recognized refugees.

Source: UNHCR