Hargeysa, Somaliland, November 19, 2011 - High officials from the Somaliland Government and UNICEF held a ceremony yesterday to officially transfer land from the Government to establish UNICEF’s new office premises.

His Excellency Abdirahman Abdullahi Ismail, Acting President and Vice President of Somaliland,

Engineer Hussein Mohamud Jiiciir, Mayor of Hargeysa, Mr. Sikander Khan, UNICEF Representative, as well as other officials from UNICEF and Somaliland’s ministries participated in the event.

 “We are very pleased to accept the transfer of land from the Government to UNICEF," said Mr. Khan.  "This donation demonstrates the Government’s strong commitment to improve the protection of its children's rights, which we are proud to work with them to ensure.”

With a land size of 10,000 square meters and constructed area size of 2,430 square meters, the property will become the largest UNICEF field office in the region. Construction of the new office compound is expected to be completed within the next 12 months and can house over 90 staff once operational.

The donation comes at a critical time given the fast approaching deadline to attain the Millennium Development Goal targets by 2015.

"This compound will enable us to further strengthen our partnership with the Government to target the most deprived children to attain the Millennium Development Goals with equity" said Mr. Khan. 

"It is now urgent that we focus all of our efforts on those children who are most vulnerable and hardest to reach.  By making additional investments in them, we will accelerate the transition in all areas currently experiencing a humanitarian emergency to one of recovery and eventually long-lasting development, which will create the foundation for an equitable and prosperous country in the future."

Construction costs for the premises will be spent from the operational budget allocated to the organization with no funds utilized from any of the ongoing programmes for children.

UNICEF has been operational in the region since 1983, working with authorities and communities in the programme areas of health, nutrition, water and sanitation, education, and child protection.

In 2011, UNICEF supported the immunization of over 380,000 children in Somaliland against polio and more than 323,000 children against measles. Between January and July, nearly 9,000 severely malnourished children have received life-saving treatment at 40 UNICEF-supported therapeutic feeding facilities, over 120,000 people are benefiting from access to safe water, and 90,000 children are accessing water and sanitation facilities in schools.

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Photos of the event available. For more information please contact:

Iman Morooka, Communication Officer, imorooka@unicef.org, +2522 4047769, +254714606733

Ettie Higgins, UNICEF Chief of Field Office, ehiggins@unicef.org

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