SOMALILAND 2011 United Nations Children’S Fund (UNICEF) Hargeisa Field Office - UNICEF Somalia, 2012 Cover Photos: © UNICEF/2011
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CHILDREN IN SOMALILAND 2011 United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Hargeisa Field Office - UNICEF Somalia, 2012 Cover Photos: © UNICEF/2011 Reporting period: January-December 2011, unless otherwise indicated. 2 • Children in Somaliland • UNICEF Hargeisa Contents UNICEF in Somaliland in 2011 4 Results for Children Nutrition 8 Health 9 Child Health Days 10 Water, Sanitation and Hygiene 11 Education 12 Child Protection 13 Cross-Cutting Priorities and Coordination 14 Supplies for Children 16 Partners and Donors 17 Acronyms 17 Children in Somaliland • UNICEF Hargeisa • 3 UNICEF IN SOMALILAND IN 2011 hildren in Somaliland continued to enjoy relative stability This past year, children in Somaliland were hardly spared from in 2011, although challenges remain significant for those the dramatic consequences of the prolonged drought which still Cmost vulnerable. After being voted into office in Somalil- continues to affect the Horn of Africa. The latter half of 2011 saw and’s third consecutive peaceful transition in power, the new a surge in malnutrition rates —reaching particularly high levels government elected in 2009 completed its second year in 2011 among internally displaced (IDP) children—while the drought se- with firm and renewed commitments towards putting human riously weighed down on people’s livelihoods, notably in remote development at the centre of its agenda, with a particular focus and rural areas. on accelerating progress towards the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Although there are signs at the start of In 2011, Somaliland indeed saw the 2012 that the situa- adoption of a National Development tion is improving in Plan for 2012-2016, with several Somaliland, this latest important components placing chil- crisis only further dren at the centre of development highlighted the need priorites. A number of initiatives to invest in ensuring were also rolled out, bringing direct lasting change for benefits for women and children— children, and solidly including the government’s decision anchor Somaliland on to abolish school fees in an effort a path towards transi- to move towards universal free tion and development, education. Multiple policies—from with children at the supporting youth through to revis- centre of the agenda as iting and improving systems in the health, nutrition and water a matter of priority for today and tomorrow’s generations. sectors—were also adopted or carried forward over the year, with support from UN partners including UNICEF. Significant challenges remain in making sure basic services reach the hardest to reach and most vulnerable groups, including Seeing the impact of several years of failed rains on Somaliland’s children and women from nomadic communities, the internally most vulnerable populations, the government, UN agencies and displaced, as well as women and children from migrant families, civil society partners banded together to review and improve amongst others. disaster risk reduction and management frameworks. 4 • Children in Somaliland • UNICEF Hargeisa into therapeutic feeding programmes over the year, combined UNICEF’S WORK IN SOMALILAND with emergency water, sanitation and hygiene efforts reach- ing over 130,000 vulnerable and displaced people. High impact resent in Somaliland since 1972, and operating out of large-scale programmes including Child Health Days (CHDs)—an Hargeisa, with a logistics hub in the port town of Berbera, initiative which began in 2008 under the leadership of the Minis- UNICEF continued its efforts over the past year, working P try of Health and in partnership with WHO—continued with a new alongside communities, civil society and government authorities round conducted in July 2011, reaching and protecting more than to advance women and children’s survival and development, and 300,000 children and 250,000 women from vaccine-preventable protect children’s rights. UNICEF works with government and diseases. local civil society partners to advance development-oriented efforts, including building capacity of health and nutrition staff; Policy-level and upstream investment in building better sys- expanding services; working to strengthen management of the tems also took place across all sectors—from efforts to review Somaliland health system; and extending sustainable long-term Somaliland’s Health policy; supporting the adoption of Somalil- access to safe water, with a particular focus on developing solu- and’s National Youth Policy; developing a national Infant and tions for rural communities. UNICEF also worked to support Young Child Feeding (IYCF) Strategy; through to conducting a capacity-building of government counterparts in the water sector, nationwide child protection systems mapping exercise, support- particularly at decentralised levels, and worked with partners to ing Education Policy and Planning under the Integrated Capacity launch Community-Led Total Sanitation across different rural vil- Development for Somali Education Administra- lages in Somaliland as a way to put commu- tion (ICDSEA) programme, and upgrading Edu- nities in charge of improving and maintaining cation Information Management Systems in a better and safer sanitation. Integrating efforts nationwide census of Somaliland’s primary school across sectors was another priority, with system, with data currently being consolidated as investments to improve water, sanitation and of April 2012. hygiene in Somaliland’s schools, benefiting more than 90,000 children in 2011. UNICEF also continued to work closely with government and United Nations partners under UNICEF also placed a strong focus on equity- the Joint Programme on Local Governance (UN- driven approaches to programming with the JPLG), with efforts to lead and support commu- aim of bringing services closer to home for nity consultations. In addition, UNICEF continued women and children in isolated and remote areas. Efforts in 2011 chairing the Social Sector pillar of the UN Somali Assistance included a scale-up of nutrition and health activities, with the Strategy (UNSAS). Implementation of the Multi-Indicator Cluster admission of more than 13,000 severely malnourished children Children in Somaliland • UNICEF Hargeisa • 5 Survey (MICS) was a further large-scale undertaking, with results Meanwhile, more than twenty donors have been essential in scheduled to help inform future programming, using disaggre- achieving results for children in Somaliland in 2011, including gated data to ensure further equity-driven approaches to reach bilateral government donors, inter-governmental donors and those children and women most in need (more details below). UNICEF National Committees. UNICEF is tremendously grateful for donors’ contributions and for the efforts by all of its partners, WORKING TOGETHER FOR CHILDREN and looks forward to expanded and future partnerships to con- tinue advancing children’s rights, development and well being. Partnerships for children have been, and continue to be, the cornerstone for all of UNICEF’s efforts across Somaliland. Work- SOMALILAND GENERAL PROFILE ing with multiple central and decentralised government authori- ties deeply committed to development in a context with a lively, Child Mortality Water, Sanitation and Hygiene active and vibrant civil society, UNICEF has anchored its Somalil- 1 in 9 40% 40.5% and programme on key principles of cooperation, alignment and children dies before Households with access Households with access support to national priorities for child survival, development and their fifth birthday to improved sanitation to improved water sources well being. UNICEF’s partners include more than ten different 1 in 11 ministries and central government offices, along with these min- children dies before Education Child Protection istries’ regional and district offices in sectors including education, their first birthday 38% health and water, justice, and social affairs, among others. Direct Nutrition 45.2% for girls 35.9% partnerships also exist with six districts for community-level Primary school net Children aged 5-14 years 5% attendance ratio engaged in child labour development through the Joint Programme on Local Governance Children 0-6 months and Service Delivery, and UNICEF also works with a number of exclusively breastfed municipal authorities across Somaliland. Under five children per region (% of total) Source: MICS3, UNICEF’s programmes also benefit from a network of close to 2006 forty non-governmental partners, the vast majority of which are SanaagSanag Togdheer local, Somaliland-based. Bringing together government and civil Togdher 10.1%10% society partners, UNICEF also supports Ministries to coordinate Maroodi 21.9%21% actors in the key sectors of education, water and sanitation, as Galbeed Jeex SoolSool well as nutrition within the overall health sector. This effort also 39.3% 10% extends to the cluster system in place in Somaliland to respond 39% 9.7% Source: to humanitarian needs. Working within government coordinated (incl. Hargeisa) AwdalAwdal CHD 2011 Sahil sector groups UNICEF notably continued to chair and lead the 13.1%13% Sahil planning 5.8%6% Nutrition, Education and WASH Clusters. figures. 6 • Children in Somaliland • UNICEF Hargeisa Children in Somaliland • UNICEF Hargeisa • 7 NUTRITION RESULTS UNICEF SUPPORTED PROGRAMME ► Integrated Management of Acute Malnutrition (IMAM) 15,795 100,162 Children under-five admitted and received Pregnant and lactating women supplemented 5 life-saving treatment for Severe Acute Stabilisation Centres Malnutrition (SAM), Jan/Dec