UK announces new £25 million aid package for Somalia to support almost 1m people
April 27, 2022, 6:52 am

UK announces new £25 million aid package for Somalia to support almost 1m people

People walk near the wreckage of a car near the complex housing Somalia’s ministries of works and labor stormed by al-Shabaab militants in Somalia’s capital Mogadishu. (File photo: AFP)

The Arab News reported, the UK Foreign Office said on Tuesday (Apr 26) that Minister for Africa Vicky Ford has announced a new £25 million ($31.4 million) aid package to provide vital services to almost a million people in Somalia, as the country teeters on the brink of widespread famine.

Speaking at a roundtable event organized by UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, Ford announced the package of lifesaving food, water, nutrition and emergency health support and called on other international donors to step up.

Ford said: “The UK is stepping up our support with an additional £25 million, taking our support to almost £40 million in 2022 alon. After a quarter of a million people needlessly died from hunger in Somalia in 2011, we said never again. Now is the time for the international community to fulfill that commitment and stand with the people of Somalia.”

UK announces £25 million aid package for Somalia, supporting almost one million people (File photo: Pixabay)

After three failed rainy seasons, approximately half the population require life-saving aid due to the ongoing drought, the UK Foreign Office said, adding forecasts suggest a fourth failed rain is likely. The UN estimate that there are pockets of famine in the county now, with more than one million people on the edge.

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The minister also announced a groundbreaking partnership with Qatar, which will see the Qatari government invest $1.5 million with the UK toward the emergency response and resilience-building in Somalia.

On Monday, the Minister conducted a virtual visit to Baidoa in Somalia where the UK is supporting almost 120,000 people with food and water support. She met with representatives from the Norwegian Refugee Council, a UK partner on the ground, and heard from communities affected.

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The UK Government committed an initial £14.5 million of support for Somalia earlier this year, which is expected to support almost 500,000 people to access clean water and afford food supplies.

Source: arabnews

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BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has sponsored the BuildHer CityHack 2025 Hackathon, a two-day event spearheaded by the College of Engineering and Technology at the Royal University for Women (RUW).
Aimed at secondary school students, the event brought together a distinguished group of academic professionals and technology experts to mentor and inspire young participants.
More than 100 high school students from across the Kingdom of Bahrain took part in the hackathon, which featured an intensive programme of training workshops and hands-on sessions. These activities were tailored to enhance participants’ critical thinking, collaborative problem-solving, and team-building capabilities, while also encouraging the development of practical and sustainable solutions to contemporary challenges using modern technological tools.
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For his part, Dr. Humam ElAgha, Acting Dean of the College of Engineering and Technology at the University, said: “BuildHer CityHack 2025 embodies our hands-on approach to education. By tackling real-world problems through creative thinking and sustainable solutions, we're preparing women to thrive in the knowledge economy – a cornerstone of the University's vision.”