"Most of the IDP populations across the country live in appalling
conditions, but the worst are those living around Mogadishu," Abdullahi Shirwa,
of Civil Society in Action, an umbrella organization, told
IRIN.
The needs of hundreds of
thousands of IDPs across the country were not being met, Shirwa said, adding
that IDPs around Mogadishu had the added problem of "total lack of security, and
very little access to help".
He said the security issue had been used by
agencies as the main reason for "little or no assistance to the IDPs.
Unfortunately, insecurity has become a way of life in the country and can no
longer be used as an excuse not to help people in desperate need."
Shirwa said there were traditional structures that can help in delivering
aid to the displaced. "They can make use of elders, women's groups and religious
leaders - but they don’t."
He said more needed to be done to reach the
displaced. "In my opinion, fewer than 20 percent of IDPs' needs are being met at
the moment."
Abject misery
The UN Refugee Agency, UNHCR, estimates there are 896
000 IDPs in the Mogadishu-Afgoye corridor.
Roberta Russo, spokesperson
for UNHCR Somalia, told IRIN yesterday "the needs of the people are not
adequately addressed and a lot more should be done to assist the growing number
of displaced
The main problem of humanitarian agencies is the lack of access to the needy
population, due to the highly insecure environment."
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Somalia
told IRIN that access, security and funding were "considerable
constraints".
According to OCHA, eight aid workers had been killed this year alone.
"It is important to note that funding is also a considerable constraint on
humanitarian programming throughout Somalia. The Consolidated Appeal Process is
funded at only 54 percent of the estimated needs. Some sectors have received as
little as 10 percent of the resources they require for adequate programming,"
said the agency.
Asha Sha'ur, a senior member of civil society, told IRIN many of the IDPs
lived in overcrowded camps, where most of the shelters were built from twigs,
recycled cardboard and old clothes.
"The lucky ones may get a plastic
sheeting to cover it", despite the fact that some of the IDPs pay rent to the
owners of the land, she said.
Sha'ur, who visited the camps on 28 September, said: "These people are living in
the most miserable conditions. It is heart-breaking. I honestly don't know how
else to describe it."
She said the displaced had no access to clean
water and sanitation conditions were bad. “Thousands of families are left with
no latrines.”
She said the displaced were getting a "fraction of what
they need. This is intolerable."
“No more excuses”