MOGADISHU, 31 March 2006 — A major survey on reconstruction of Somalia has been launched in Somalia, a Somali expert said yesterday.
“The Somali Joint Needs Assessment (JNA) will see experts consult all sections and regions of Somalia in an effort to rebuild the country. The JNA, led by the UN and World Bank, is a major technical analysis by 135 experts, 70 of them Somalis, in consultation with a wide segment of Somali people, aimed at securing a clear picture of present reconstruction and development priorities in the country,” Abddi Salad Shute, one of JNA Somali experts, said.
He added that Somali experts with 7,200 questionnaires have traveled to the southern and central regions of the country.
Post conflict needs assessments is a tool that donor countries, the UN and the World Bank have developed over the years to help stop and avoid conflicts in war-torn societies that are ready to move from conflict to recovery.
Meanwhile, the European Commission signed in Brussels on Tuesday a pact giving political recognition to Somalia’s interim government and has pledging more aid.
“I gave assurances of moral, political and material support,” European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said after the signing of the memorandum with Somali President Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed and Prime Minister Mohamed Ali Gedi.
Barroso said the Commission would next month urge EU states to release a further 70 million euros ($84 million) in assistance to Somalia on top of the 200 million euros it has already granted, mainly through United Nations agencies.
