humanitarian crisis

Today marks a historic day in Somalia, as parliament elected Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, as the country's new president.

International agency Oxfam today warned that sanctions imposed on Mali could have devastating consequences on 3.5m people already at risk of hunger, if humanitarian needs are not safeguarded.

Some 13 million people are at severe risk from a food crisis which is set to escalate into a full scale humanitarian emergency in the Sahel region of West and Central Africa if urgent action is not taken.

The international humanitarian response system will fail to cope with the expected rise in the number of people exposed to crises unless there are more resources closer to where disasters happen and there is more investment in preventing and reducing the risk of disasters, warns Oxfam.

In 2010, vast humanitarian crises from Haiti to Pakistan almost overwhelmed the international system’s ability to respond.

Six months since South Sudan’s independence, the world’s newest nation is struggling to cope with a major refugee crisis and massive internal displacement, international agency Oxfam said today.

In response to the FSNAU announcement that areas of Somalia have shown some improvement, Oxfam's Country Director for Somalia, Senait Gebregziabher, said:

As more heads of state publicly support the military action in Somalia, Oxfam called on international leaders to refocus on addressing the crippling famine in the country.

Oxfam, Danish refugee Council (DRC) and Care, warn that a humanitarian crisis of significant proportions remains six months after the resolution of the political stand-off in Cote d'Ivoire.

The UN announcing famine in parts of Somalia, the first in the region in the 21st century, must be an urgent wake up call to the rest of the world, Oxfam said.