UNHCR seeks 72 mln USD to provide shelter to Somalis

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)-led Emergency Shelter Cluster needs 72 million U. S. dollars to provide Somalis displaced by drought and conflict with shelter and emergency assistance packs in 2013. In a statement issued in Nairobi, UNHCR Somalia Representative Bruno Geddo said the Shelter Cluster is targeting three quarters of a million internally displaced people (IDPs) who are still living in crisis. "Shelter is the key to rebuilding the lives and dignity of displaced Somalis," Geddo said as the 2013 Consolidated Appeal (CAP) for Somalia was launched. The Shelter Cluster will continue delivery of emergency assistance through Emergency Assistance Packages (EAPs), provision of transitional shelter from plastic sheeting right through to semi-permanent and permanent shelter, including settlement planning and return of IDPs. A total of 39,000 Somali IDPs are targeted for durable housing based on secure land tenure. The 72 million dollars is part of an overall appeal for Somalia of 1.3 billion dollars. Geddo said the UN refugee agency aims to give 750,000 people in need EAPs, including transitional shelter kits to over 250,000 people. "Without the foundation that shelter provides, the level of protection we can offer is reduced. The ability to cope with ongoing nutrition and health issues is diminished and it is more difficult to improve sanitation at internally displaced people's settlements," Geddo said. The 750,000 EAPs each contain plastic sheeting, a jerrican for water collection and storage, blankets, sleeping mats, a kitchen set of vital utensils, as well as sanitary items including soap. A new addition to the emergency assistance package for 2013 is a standard "Women's Dignity Kit" which will contain traditional Somali women's clothing and sanitary items for all female members in a beneficiary family. "The transitional shelter approach allows us to provide shelter for all types of IDPs from the recently displaced to protracted IDPs," said Richard Evans, Emergency Shelter Cluster Coordinator. "Shelter solutions range from a plastic sheeting for a new arrival in Mogadishu to a solid brick house for the long-term displaced in Puntland," Geddo said. The Emergency Shelter Cluster is one of eight clusters responding to the Somalia crisis.