By Senator Mahdi Dahir Sheikh Nur

Somalia faces an unprecedented humanitarian crisis as a result of the fall out from the COVID-19 pandemic. We could be looking at the loss of all progress made in the rebuilding of Somalia since the civil war.

The ban of international and domestic flights coupled with the dramatic reduction of imports at the major ports has led to the loss of revenue that was critical to the supplementation of the federal government and federal member state budgets.

The informal banking sector locally known as the Hawala, is at the verge of collapse due to rapidly diminishing international remittances from the Somali diaspora who are themselves facing severe economic uncertainty due to the pandemic. This sector is a major source of foreign currency for majority of Somalis, exceeding all humanitarian and development assistance to the country and comprising between 23 and 40 percent of the country’s economy according to World bank and Oxfam reports. The above coupled with the recent exposure of a nationwide forex Ponzi scheme that supposedly led to the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars has exacerbated the cash flow crisis.

With the reduction of imports, Somalia will soon be facing a dramatic shortage of food as local farmers will be unable to meet the demands of a nation that is a net importer of food. This will most likely lead to a mass exodus to urban areas and markedly increase the number of IDP’s that currently stands at 2.6 million as per the latest report of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

The Gu rains have started with moderate to heavy showers being experienced in some parts of the country which is good news for supporting planting activities and maintenance of the country’s rangelands. However, there is concern that this could enable fresh breeding and further spread of the desert locust swarms that have been destroying pasture and food crops in most of Eastern Africa.

The Federal government as well as the Federal member states (FMS), who are the main employers in the country, will be unable to pay for services and salaries without the introduction of an economic stimulus package by the donors. Such a scenario has the potential of causing chaos when coupled with an already existing atmosphere of fear and suspicion due to the pandemic.

Somalia has two healthcare workers per 100,000 people and a healthcare infrastructure that would be devastated if faced with the numbers of patients being reported in various countries worldwide. As things stand, Somalia has 8 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the country. This number could be much higher, but we simply have no way of knowing as the country lacks the capacity to implement mass testing of people.

We are grateful for the generous donation of testing kits and protective equipment from Jack Ma of the Ali Baba group, however, that is not enough to prevent the number of cases from snowballing as we have seen in many countries. Somalia is faced with the horrifying scenario of thousands of people dying in their homes and at hospitals all over the country due to a lack of ICU facilities for those that develop severe pneumonia associated with the infection. Our best hope remains in reducing the number of cases by applying as many preventative measures as we possibly can.

We appeal for assistance in the form of medical personnel, supplies and equipment, foodstuff and financial packages from the international community in our bid to save our country from this pandemic and its devastating consequences.

It is imperative that Somali’s of all walks of life and political affiliations put aside their differences in these trying times. This disease does not target people based on their clan, political affiliations, or their religious ideology. We must come together as one nation and tackle this crisis with the singular goal of overcoming this pandemic.

Senator Mahdi Dahir Sheikh Nur
Email : mahdi7867@gmail.com