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Horn of Africa (Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya)

Website of the SDC in Horn of Africa (Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya): www.swiss-cooperation.admin.ch/hornofafrica/

The Horn of Africa is confronted with recurring natural catastrophes, particularly droughts and floods. The persistent conflicts in southern Somalia and the Somali Region of Ethiopia also serve to destabilise the livelihoods of the people there. Owing to this precarious situation, several million people require humanitarian aid each year in the Horn of Africa. The SDC has been providing aid to this region since the 1990s. When the conflict in Somalia flared up again in 2007, the Humanitarian Aid of the Swiss Confederation (SHA) boosted its commitment in Somalia and the surrounding countries. In 2009, in response to the food crisis, the volume of Swiss aid reached a record level of around CHF 17 million. In spring 2011, when the signs of another humanitarian disaster began to appear, the SHA again strengthened its local presence with additional experts and an increased budget for the region. On 17 August 2011, the Federal Council pledged a further CHF 20 million for the Horn of Africa, thus doubling its aid contribution to a total of CHF 38.5 million for 2011.

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Focal points of humanitarian aid

Somalia: Somalia has been in a state of civil war for the last 20 years, During this period the country has had no functioning central government, and droughts and flooding have added further to the suffering of the local population. About 1.5 million people have been driven from their homes and more than 600,000 have fled across the borders to Kenya, Ethiopia or Yemen. In the war zones, civilians, including children, have frequently been the victims of this protracted conflict. In southern Somalia, the UN has declared a state of famine in four districts. More than 2 million people have fled the fighting and are now reported to be in southern and central Somalia and in Ethiopia. According to UNICEF, in August 2011, the lives of some 500,000 children in Somalia were under the threat of starvation. Currently, food aid is most urgently needed in southern Somalia. Food alone is not enough, however. Families also need access to drinking water and health services, as well as other forms of care and protection.

Ethiopia: In Ethiopia, around 10-15% of the population are chronically reliant on food aid. This figure is constantly on the rise owing to missing rainy seasons, with the severe consequences of lost harvests and livestock. The armed conflicts in southern Ethiopia and the harsh climatic conditions mean that the people in this area are particularly vulnerable.

Kenya: Kenya is also suffering from drought, mainly in the north and north-east of the country, where at times more than three million people have had to be supplied with humanitarian aid. In addition, Kenya is confronted with large flows of refugees from neighbouring Somalia. The number of refuges in the largest refugee camp in the world, Dadaab, has been growing from 400,000 at the beginning of the year and is soon expected to reach 500,000.

The Swiss Confederation's Humanitarian Aid focuses on the following issues:

• Food security/restoring livelihoods: Creating, maintaining or rehabilitating people’s livelihoods. For instance: rebuilding wells and agricultural amenities; improving the cattle feed supply; protecting animals against disease; providing non-formal education to the nomadic population; promoting drought-resistant crops.
• Multi-sectoral emergency aid and humanitarian coordination: Food aid, water supply, emergency medical aid for conflict and drought victims; supporting humanitarian coordination mechanisms.
• Protection of refugees, internally displaced persons and migrants: Providing people who have fled from their homes with the goods, accommodation and medical aid they need to survive, and advocating their rights.

In the implementation of these projects, Swiss Humanitarian Aid is working with the following partner organisations: the United Nations (UN); the International Committee of the Red Cross, Swiss non-governmental organisations (Caritas, MSF-CH, Terre des Hommes Lausanne, Medair, Vétérinaires sans Frontières Schweiz (VSF)), and international NGOs.

In addition, Switzerland regularly provides the UN’s organizations with experts from the Swiss Humanitarian Aid Unit (SHA) when needed.

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 Background information on the Horn of Africa

Facts and figures
	Kenya	Ethiopia	Somalia
Surface area Population Annual population growth rate (since 1990) Life expectancy at birth women / men Adult illiteracy rate: women / men Gross Domestic Product GDP per capita Percentage of population with less than 2 USD per day	580'367 41.1 2.5 60 / 59 20 / 9 1600 50 km2 mill. % years % USD %	1'104'300 90.9 3.2 59 / 54 65 / 50 1000 .. km2 mill. % years % USD %	637'657 9.9 1.6 52 / 48 74 / 50 600 .. km2 mill. % years % USD %
Source: CIA World Factbook 2011
.. = figures not available Background information provided by the BBC: Kenya Background information provided by the BBC: Ethiopia Background information provided by the BBC: Somalia

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Local SDC contact address:

Horn of Africa (Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya) (Nairobi)
Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) Embassy of Switzerland International House Mama Ngina Street P.O. Box 30752 00100 Nairobi
Phone	+254 202 134 323 +254 706 210 297
Email	nai.sdc@eda.admin.ch
Website	www.swiss-cooperation.admin.ch/hornofafrica/

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	Additional Information and Documents Here, you will find more publications, links, documents and articles about Swiss development cooperation and humanitarian aid in this country.