Key facts: Somalia
Last updated: June 2008
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- Population: 7.7 million (Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS), UNICEF, 2006).
- Average life expectancy: 47 years (MICS, UNICEF, 2006). UK: 78 years (UN Statistics Division (UNSD), 2007).
- Average per capita income:
Not available. UK: US$69,560 (£37,600) (World
Bank development data, 2005).
- Gross national income (GNI) per capita: US $200 (MICS, UNICEF, 2006).
- Average annual growth rate: 2.6% (estimate) (Central Intelligence Agency, 2007).
- Percentage of people not meeting daily food needs: Not available.
- Women dying in childbirth: 1,044 per 100,000 live births (MICS, UNICEF, 2006). UK: 13 per 100,000 (UNSD, 2007).
- Children dying before age 5: 135 per 1,000 live births (MICS, UNICEF, 2006). UK: 6 per 1,000 (UNSD, 2005).
- Percentage of children receiving primary school education: 23% (MICS, UNICEF, 2006).
- Percentage of people aged 15-49 living with HIV/AIDS: 1% (MICS, UNICEF, 2006). UK: 0.2% (UNSD, 2005).
- Percentage of people with access to safe, clean water: 29% (MICS, UNICEF, 2006).
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DFID: Working to reduce poverty in Somalia
Making aid effective | Governance/rule of law
| Health | HIV/AIDS | Education | Humanitarian Assistance
| Trade/growth | Millennium Development Goals
Somalia has received on average $200 million a year since 2000 from
the international community. DFID’s contribution has increased from
£3.1 million in 2002/03 to £21 million in 2007/08.
Our programme is predominantly focused on delivering humanitarian
relief to the most vulnerable, improving health and education
services across Somalia, strengthening government capacity and
assisting the Transitional Federal Government (TFG) to develop a
constitutional process.
The UK is responding to the crisis in Somalia by working together
with other international donors under the auspices of the UN. We are
trying to improve the coordination of development assistance,
through the Somali Support Secretariat and other mechanisms, and
ensure that all assistance adheres to the
OECD/DAC Principles for Good International Engagement in Fragile States.
DFID has played an important part in developing the Reconstruction
and Development Programme (RDP), led by the UN Development Programme
(UNDP) and the World Bank. We have also taken a leading role in the
European Union/Norway 2008–13 Country Strategy Paper for Somalia,
which takes the RDP as its starting point.
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The UK, together with the international community, believes
the best chance for the future of Somalia will come from working
with the Somalis to strengthen the rule of law in their country
– that is, the police and judiciary.
- DFID supports the Governance and Rule of Law Programme
through the UN Development Programme (UNDP). By strengthening
the police, judiciary and custodial bodies, we are helping to
create a secure environment that will allow the Somalis to go
about their everyday business - for example, children going to
school and pregnant women attending health clinics.
- Also with the UNDP, DFID is providing institutional support
to key ministries and local administrations and support for a
new constitutional process.
- We have co-funded Interpeace to advance and underpin
peace-building across Somalia, as well as supporting democratic
presidential and parliamentary elections and local elections in
Somaliland and Puntland.
- DFID is funding the Somali Women’s Platform for Action, part
of the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM), which aims to
improve female civil society involvement in politics and
development. We also support the development of media through
HornAfrik.
- In August 2007, the UK assisted the National Reconciliation
Congress in Mogadishu in an attempt to deepen inclusivity and
broaden clan-based acceptance of the TFG.
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Although DFID continues to support emergency services to the most
vulnerable in Somalia through such organisations as the
International Committee of the Red Cross, International Medical
Corps and UNICEF, we are currently shifting towards a more
strategic, sector-wide approach to health issues.
- Through a two-year programme developed with a group of
British organisations, DFID is channelling funds into
strengthening regional health systems in Somaliland, as a pilot
for the rest of the country. For instance, in Amoud village,
vaccination rates have increased from 10% coverage to 87%, and
vaccination is expected to be rolled out to other villages
- Also in Somaliland, we are piloting a social marketing
scheme for insecticide-treated bed nets to reduce the prevalence
of malaria, using both public- and private-sector
infrastructures.
- Funds given to the Gedo Regional Health Programme in South
Central Somalia have led to a tripling of the number of people
visiting clinics as outpatients.
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HIV/AIDS activities are integrated into our broader service
delivery programmes. In addition, as a result of DFID support, AIDS
commissions have been established in Somaliland, Puntland and South
Central Somalia. DFID central funding is also provided to the Global
Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation and to the Global Fund to
Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
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DFID’s support, which is focused strongly on girls’ education, is
channelled through UN and international NGO partners. It includes:
- a three-year £6 million partnership agreement with UNESCO
and UNICEF that aims to strengthen education systems, increase
access and enrolment to schools and reduce and eventually
abolish user fees
- basic education services in Hiraan through Save the Children,
which has helped to increase enrolment rates by 56% since the end of
2004.
Through the Formal Assessment and Certification in Somalia and
Somaliland (FACSS) programme of the Africa Educational Trust, DFID
is also helping to develop new and modern examinations systems for
primary and secondary schools.
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DFID is funding emergency humanitarian interventions - feeding
and nutrition programmes - in the worst-affected areas of the South
Central region. In 2007, we spent £8.6 million through international
non-governmental organisations (INGOs) and UN agencies. So far in
2008, we have committed an additional £18 million in new funding,
including £12 million to the World Food Programme, which distributes
10,000 metric tonnes of food aid a month. These programmes target
the most vulnerable populations in regions with large numbers of
internally displaced people and severe malnutrition.
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The economy is surprisingly robust, with strong exports of live
animals (to Kenya and the Gulf) and the growth of new economic
activities (e.g. telecoms). The US$1 billion sent back to the
country by Somalis living abroad is also an important part of the
economy.
DFID has committed £3 million to the 2006–08 Somalia Employment,
Enterprise and Livelihoods programme, which has the dual aims of
sustainable economic growth and diversification in Somalia and
Somaliland.
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There is insufficient data to plot progress of Somalia’s MDGs,
but the country is likely to be seriously off track. With the
current political instability, it is unlikely that Somalia will
reverse this pattern in the near future.
MDG 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger
The UN estimated that 1.8 million people would be in need of food aid between January and July 2008 (World Food Programme, 2008).
MDG 2: Achieve universal primary education
Primary school attendance has slumped to 23%.
MDG 3: Promote gender equality and empower women
Only a third of the children attending primary school are girls, and only 8% of parliamentary seats are held by women.
MDG 4: Reduce child mortality
For every 1,000 live births, 135 Somali children die before their fifth birthday.
MDG 5: Improve maternal health
In 2006, only 26% of pregnant women received antenatal care and only 33% of births were attended by skilled health staff. The result: a maternal mortality rate of 1,044 per 100,000 live births.
MDG 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
About 1% of the population is living with HIV/AIDS. Of children under the age of 5 with a fever, only 8% receive anti-malarial drugs, down from an estimated 19% in 2000. However, the incidence of tuberculosis in the population is on the decline, from 331 per 100,000 people in 1990 to 218 in 2006.
MDG 7: Ensure environmental sustainability
The percentage of people who have access to improved sanitation facilities and improved water sources has remained relatively stationary since 1995 at, respectively, 37% and 29%.
MDG 8: Develop a global partnership for development
In the middle of civil war, there has been a surprising, if slow, growth in various economic indicators between 2000 and 2006 - e.g. an increase in mobile phone subscribers from 1.1% to 6.1% and of internet users from 0.2% to 1.1%.
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