5 million people in need of relief
The Humanitarian Response Plan for Somalia for 2017 comes against a backdrop of deteriorating humanitarian situation in the country: expanding drought conditions have left thousands of Somalis facing severe food and water shortages.
Overall, some 5 million people are in need of relief and about 3.3 million people lack access to emergency health services and require improved access to water, sanitation and hygiene.
The plight of children is particularly worrying with about 320,000 children under the age of 5 years acutely malnourished and in need of urgent nutrition support. Of these, 50,000 children are severely malnourished and far more vulnerable than any other group.
Maternal mortality ratio is among the highest in the world
Also, around 3 million school-age children are out of school with numbers increasing and placing children at greater risk.
Furthermore, protection concerns remain high amid the humanitarian crisis with at least 1.1 million internally displaced persons and other vulnerable groups exposed to protection risks.
According to the Office of the Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, maternal mortality ratio for Somalia is among the highest in the world at 732 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births.
