Somalia famine relief effort hit harder by food aid delays than by rebels

[alp227]

Source: The Guardian

Famine relief efforts in Somalia are being hampered as much by delays in procuring food aid and raising funds as by difficulties in accessing Islamist-controlled areas, according to humanitarian organisations working there.

The al-Shabab rebel group, which controls most of the south, including the main famine zones, has refused to lift the bans it has imposed on several humanitarian agencies over the past two years. Barred organisations include the World Food Programme, which usually leads drought responses.

But several other international aid groups, including Islamic Relief, Unicef, and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) are operating across the al-Shabab-controlled zones, as are numerous Somali non-governmental organisatons.

Staff at these agencies say the major problem in responding to the crisis is the time it is taking to buy food abroad and to transport it to the worst-hit areas.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/aug/04/somalia-famine-food-aid-unicef-al-shabab