Post Gu 2013 Food Security and Nutrition Technical Report
Issued: October 18, 2013
In June-July 2013, the FSNAU in collaboration with regional governments and several partner agencies carried out food security and nutrition assessments across Somalia. The purpose of the assessment was to gather information required for food security and nutrition situation analysis for rural and urban populations and internally displaced persons (IDP). The livelihoods based analysis provided a snap-shot food security situation analysis for July 2013 and projections for the period of August to December 2013. The food security analysis followed a standardized Integrated Phase Classification (IPC) approach.
Results of the post-Gu 2013 assessment indicate that the number of people in crisis in Somalia is at its lowest since famine was declared in Somalia in 2011, thanks to successive seasons of average to above average rainfall, low food prices and sustained humanitarian response. However, acute malnutrition continues to pose a threat to hundreds of thousands of children especially in the country’s southern region, latest findings indicate.
Accordingly, an estimated 870 000 people will be in Crisis (IPC Phases 3) and Emergency (IPC Phase 4) from August to December 2013. The situation has significantly improved since 2011 when 4 million Somalis were in extreme food security crisis.
The recent figures also represent a continued improvement since January 2013 when an estimated 1 050 000 people were in Crisis and Emergency (IPC Phases 3 and 4). Improvements are attributed to a near average July/August 2013 Gu harvest, increased livestock prices, increased livestock herd sizes, improved milk availability, low prices of both local and imported staple food commodities, higher purchasing power from income from labor and livestock sales, and sustained humanitarian interventions over the last six months.
However, nearly 2.3 million additional people, one-third of Somalia’s population, beyond those requiring more urgent assistance, is classified as Stressed (IPC Phase 2) and their food security remains fragile. This group of households may struggle to meet their own minimal food requirement through the end of the year, and they remain highly vulnerable to major shocks that could push them back to food security crisis.
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