Japan has donated $3.1 million to UNICEF to assist children and their families affected by droughts and floods in Somalia, the UN agency said on Thursday.
The money will be used to provide support to tens of thousands of vulnerable people in Banadir, Baidoa, Buurkaba, Buloburte, Jalalaqsi and Kismayo districts, UNICEF said.
“It is important to mitigate the impact of the recent severe droughts and floods and to consider how to adapt to climate change in the future,” Japan’s ambassador to Somalia Ken Okinawa was quoted as saying.
“We hope this grant will support the children and their families who have been affected by the natural disaster and are in dire need of immediate humanitarian assistance. We also hope this grant will help build their resilience to climate change.”
UNICEF official Wafaa Saeed said the donation came at a critical time when families were struggling to cope with the impact of last year’s drought and floods in Somalia.
“Although they have subsided, the floods have left a long-lasting impact on the lives and livelihoods of children and their families. We welcome this contribution from the government of Japan, which is forged in our shared commitment to alleviating suffering and restoring the dignity of vulnerable families,” Saeed said.
“We look forward to this partnership and to working with the Government of Somalia and our local and district-level partners to delivering these desperately needed services to disadvantaged communities.”
Somalia’s Disaster Management Agency estimated that some 2.5 million people were affected by the floods, including about 1.5 million children.
