In Istanbul, Somalia’s disaster agency chief meets Turkish aid groups

By Mohammed Dhaysane

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AA) - The head of Somalia’s Disaster Management Agency has met with the Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) in two Turkish cities and discussed Somalia’s prolonged drought and cooperation between the agency and the civil group.

Agency head Mahamud Moalim “visited the Emergency Response Centers and met with heads of the Agency (IHH) in Bursa & Istanbul,” Somalia’s Disaster Management Agency said on Twitter on Monday.

The Turkish foundation will also bring food aid to the country to people affected by drought, said the Somali agency.

During his visit to Türkiye, Moalim also met with Serkan Kayalar, the head of state aid group the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA), and discussed Türkiye’s humanitarian and development efforts in Somalia.

“Both parties discussed Turkiye’s humanitarian & development role in Somalia and how further TIKA can specifically support (Somalia’s agency) in developing its capacity to mitigate and respond,” said a statement by Somalia’s Disaster Management Agency on Sunday.

Moalim also met with the Turkish Red Crescent’s International Affairs head.

Türkiye’s humanitarian organizations have been operating in the Horn of African country since 2011, when the country faced a deadly famine that killed more than 20,000 people.

Turkish humanitarian workers are currently part of Somalia’s efforts to overcome the worst drought in the country in more than four decades, which has already displaced more than a million people and killed millions of livestock.

The UN Food Security Integrated assessment indicated that an estimated 8.3 million people, more than half of the country, will face the crisis or worse food insecurity between April and June 2023.

A total of 1.8 million children, more than half of those in Somalia under the age of 5, are estimated to suffer acute malnutrition through July.

More than 514,000 children are likely to face life-threatening severe malnutrition, according to the UN.​​​​​​​