The African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) has donated non-food items to internally displaced persons (IDPs) affected by floods in Beletweyne district, HirShabelle State.
The items, which included blankets, basins, mosquito nets, and tarpaulins, were donated by Djiboutian and Ethiopian forces serving under AMISOM to alleviate the plight of hundreds of people forced to flee their homes to higher grounds due to floods caused by downpour.
Development Diaries learnt that in Somalia downpours triggered a new wave of riverine and flash flooding, affecting more than 191,800 people and inundating thousands of hectares of farmland in HirShabelle and the Jubaland states.
Of the 191,800 people affected by the floods, 124,200 were displaced from their homes and forced to higher grounds to escape the floods.
It is understood that HirShabelle and southwest states are the worst affected as humanitarian needs keep rising.
Handing the items to the HirShabelle State humanitarian affairs and disaster management minister, Mohamed Ahmed Abdi, the AMISOM sector four Civil-Military Co-operation (CIMIC) officer, Lieutenant Ibrahim Yusuf Ahmed, said, ‘The items we have handed over to the district officials for distribution include 800 tents, 1,000 blankets, 800 household utensils, and 800 plastic washbasins among others.
‘AMISOM Sector Four will closely coordinate with both the district and other regional administrations in Hiran, alongside community groups including women and the youth during emergency situations like floods and other climate change challenges’.
The HirShabelle State Minister thanked AMISOM for the donation, adding that the items would go a long way in improving the lives of people in the IDP camps.
Source: Radio Dalsan
Photo source: Howard Lake
