Targeting in Complex Emergencies - Somalia Country Case Study

Somalia has been in a state of conflict since the late 1980s and has not had a central government able to govern the country since the fall of the former President, Siad Barre, in 1991. The conflict is essentially one for control over power and resources, notably land, where clan identity has been manipulated for political and economic ends. Over time the conflict has become increasingly influenced by both regional rivalries (Ethiopia/Eritrea) and international politics (the US and the war on terror). 2008 is likely to see deteriorating humanitarian conditions, as the combination of poor harvests and increasing conflict is compounded by rapidly rising global prices for food in a country heavily dependent on imports.

The World Food Programme has been operating in Somalia since the beginning of the conflict and since 1999 has had an on-going Protracted Relief and Rehabilitation Operation that now provides about 90,000 metric tons of food aid per year. The majority of this is targeted to the South-Central part of the country where political stability has been the most elusive. The biggest single category of assistance has been general food distribution for food-insecure rural populations as well as for IDPs. Given the current battle between the Transitional Federal Government (backed by the Ethiopian Army) and the Union of Islamic Courts for the control of Mogadishu, there is a now substantial amount of food assistance going to urban populations as well.