QRCS, OCHA Somalia boost ties

Tribune News Network Doha Secretary-General of Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) Ali bin Hassan Al-Hammadi met on Monday with Adam Abdelmoula, deputy speci...

Tribune News NetworkDohaSecretary-General of Qatar Red Crescent Society (QRCS) Ali bin Hassan Al-Hammadi met on Monday with Adam Abdelmoula, deputy special representative of the Secretary-General, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia.He was accompanied by a delegation comprising Ian Ridley, head of office, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Somalia, Joanna Nickolls, head, UN Integrated Office, and Sabine Corinna Friedrich, special assistant to RC/HC/DSRSG.The meeting was attended by Faisal Mohamed Al-Emadi, executive director of Relief and International Development Division, Dr Fazwi Oussedik, head of International Relations and International Humanitarian Law, and Adel Al-Baker, director of the Office of the President of QRCS.Abdelmoula gave an overview of the difficult living conditions in most of Somalia, where drought, flooding and desertification displaced 2.9 million persons, now living at camps with hardly any basic services like education and health care.Almost half of the population, or 5.9 million persons, need humanitarian aid, 2.7 million need food, and 1 million children are at risk of famine and malnutrition.“With its expertise in digging wells and constructing rainwater collection basins, QRCS can contribute a lot to the water and sanitation sector in Somalia,” said Abdelmoula. “This will help the internally displaced people (IDPs) to resettle and integrate into their new communities.”Al-Hammadi emphasised QRCS’ keenness to improve the humanitarian conditions in Somalia, and Africa in general, capitalising on its strong times with the Somali Red Crescent Society (SRCS). Together, they have already executed numerous humanitarian projects in many parts of the country.As explained by Al-Emadi, QRCS is working on 18 projects in Somalia, with a total budget of over QR 19 million. These include health care, water and sanitation, food security, economic empowerment of the poor, agricultural production and medical convoys.It was agreed upon to arrange for a visit by Al-Hammadi to Somalia in September, with the aims of strengthening relations with SRCS, following up with QRCS’ representation mission there, and setting the scene for resuming bilateral cooperation between QRCS and OCHA in Somalia and elsewhere.