Beset by a long-running civil war and the absence of a functional government for over a decade, Somalis live in extreme poverty with an income of $1 a day or less. This was revealed in Nairobi in a joint socioeconomic survey conducted by the UN Development Program (UNDP), the World Bank and other UN aid agencies.
The World Bank’s director in charge of Somalia, Eritrea and Kenya, Muktar Diop, said reliable data had been missing in Somalia since the civil war broke out in 1991 destroying government institutions. He expressed hope that the survey, the first in a series of annual reports on Somalia, would help to initiate an “orderly intervention” in the impoverished country.
“We did not have any data to start with. Currently, Somalia receives only about $100 million annually from the donor community. Ours was not just an academic exercise. It is a project that will go a long way in the process of rebuilding Somalia. We want to be ready as a donor community to come back to Somalia in a forceful manner, once the peace process has been completed,” Diop told the meeting to launch the survey.
Elballa Hagona, the UNDP’s country director for Somalia, said the survey was expected to open up new opportunities for the UN and other donors to identify new areas of humanitarian and development needs.
“This is important, because it gives us a picture of what Somalia looks like today. It will also be important in providing indicators for more informed developmental interventions and initiatives on Somalia,” Hagona said.
***
A Somali immigrant to Britain, Nureni Sheikh, 19, was shot dead in Manchester as he walked in Moss Side, a press reports said on Wednesday. Police detectives appealing for information about the killers revealed that the youngster’s family had gone to Britain for safe haven after Nureni’s father, Mumin, was also killed during civil war in Somalia a decade ago. Despite four days of exhaustive inquiries, they say they are still baffled about any motive for killing the young IT and engineering student.
“The whole family is devastated by his death. Nureni had traveled from London for a family celebration that turned into a tragedy. He had become the head of the family after the death of his father, and for him to die in a similar way is shocking. His family described Nureni as a shy quiet boy who helped his mother around the house and took care of his brother and sisters,” a police investigator was quoted as saying.
