Year: 2021

Baghdad, 29 August 2021- Nearly 3 out of 5 children in Iraq have no access to safely managed water services and less than half of all schools in the country have access to basic water risking children’s health, nutrition, cognitive development, and future livelihoods.

The MENA region is reported to be the most water-scarce region in the world. Nearly 66 million people in the region lack basic sanitation and very low proportions of wastewater are adequately treated according to a new UNICEF report titled ‘Running Dry: the impact of water scarcity on children in the Middle East and North Africa’.

The report, released during World Water Week, highlights key drivers behind water scarcity in the region and Iraq including rising agricultural demand and the expansion of irrigated land using aquifers. While globally, agriculture accounts for an average of 70 per cent of water use, it is more than 80 per cent in the region.

“In Iraq, the level of water scarcity is alarming, children cannot develop and thrive to their full potential without water,” said Sheema SenGupta, UNICEF Representative in Iraq. “It is time to take action on climate change and guarantee access to safe water for every child” she added.

Rising food demand, urbanisation, poor water management as well as climate change have combined to threaten children, the poor and the marginalised.

While not the sole reason for water scarcity, climate change results in less rain for agriculture and the deterioration of the quality of freshwater reserves due to the backflow of saline water coming from the Arabian Gulf into freshwater aquifers and increased pollution concentrations.

In Iraq, the 2020-2021 rainfall season was the second driest in last 40 years, caused reduction of water flow in Tigris and Euphrates by 29% and 73% respectively.

UNICEF will continue to support the federal and regional governments, local partners, civil society, and the private sector to address the vulnerability of water resources in the Middle East and North Africa, including to:

Create a robust enabling environment with strong national policy and regulatory systems that address scarcity, including over-extraction of groundwater, water accounting and data analysis.

Work with civil society, especially youth as agents of change, on the value of water and water conservation.

Initiate climate change response plans, incorporate water scarcity as a priority component and allocate sufficient national budget to address water scarcity.

Create coordination groups between key stakeholders such as municipalities, water, environment, health, agriculture, energy, and finance), national academic institutions, sectoral actors including international community representatives to support on policy revisions, and increase of technical capacity

Support capacity building of key water sector actors, including regulatory bodies water utilities in provision of clean drinking water especially to highly impacted communities through upgrading ageing infrastructure, developing sustainable operation, and reducing water wastage.

About UNICEF

UNICEF promotes the rights and wellbeing of every child; in everything we do. Together with our partners, we work in 190 countries and territories to translate that commitment into practical action, focusing special effort on reaching the most vulnerable and excluded children, to the benefit of all children, everywhere.

For more information about UNICEF and its work for children, visit https://www.unicef.org/iraq/, Follow UNICEF on Twitter and Facebook

Source: UN Children’s Fund

Mogadishu:-Military commanders of African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) have agreed to accelerate the implementation of joint operations with the Somalia National Army (SNA), enhance electoral security and prepare for AMISOM post 2021.

At a two-day meeting in Mogadishu this week, the commanders evaluated progress made so far on AMISOM’s Concept of Operations, the Somalia Transition Plan and on implementing the UN Security Council Resolution 2568 (2021).

The Somalia Transition Plan is a comprehensive strategy developed by the Federal Government of Somalia and its partners to guide the transfer of security responsibilities to Somalia Security Forces ahead of AMISOM’s exit from the country. The Concept of Operations (CONOPS) supports the implementation of the Somalia Transition Plan. As part of the Concept of Operations, AMISOM has been reconfiguring its military, police, and civilian components. Under this, the military commanders of AMISOM and SNA have had several engagements to develop a detailed plan to implement the military aspects of the concept.

As directed by the Concept of Operations, AMISOM commanders have already established mobile and quick reaction forces within their areas of responsibility to enhance the effectiveness of military operations in countering the threat posed by Al-Shabaab militants. The reconfiguration has enabled AMISOM to maintain operational effectiveness, respond to threats, and plan future target operations, in line with the gradual transfer of security responsibilities to the Somalia Forces.

“The output of this meeting will inform and feed into the upcoming conference which we will have with the Somalia security forces and Somalia’s international partners. Whatever the nature of the post-2021 mission, it is imperative for all our troops in the sectors to strengthen their offensive capability ” said AMISOM Force Commander, Lt. Gen. Diomede Ndegeya.

“I appreciate the enduring work AMISOM forces have done in the sectors to ensure security and stability in Somalia. However, there is the need to generate a revised joint AMISOM/SNA realistic, workable, and fixed concept of operations, which will respond appropriately to threat assessments and an assessment of the friendly forces,” he said.

The Deputy Force Commander of AMISOM in charge of Operations and Plans, Maj. Gen. William Kitsao Shume, told the commanders that while challenges exist, great progress has been made.

“Our mandate is to degrade Al-Shabaab, which we continue to do since we came into

Somalia. We have secured population centres which gives the local population the freedom to go about their day-to-day activities,” said Maj. Gen. Shume.

Source: Somali National News Agency

ADDIS ABABA, Climate scientists drawn from the Greater Horn of Africa sub-region are predicting a drier than usual short rains season that begins in October and ends in December.

Speaking at the end of the Greater Horn of Africa Climate Outlook Forum (GHACOF), the Director of the Igad Climate Predictions and Applications Center (ICPAC) Dr Guleid Artan said the impacts from the drought could adversely affect food security.

“The food security and nutrition situation is likely to worsen especially in the Arid and Semi-Arid regions, requiring the need for expanding humanitarian assistance and interventions across the region,” said Dr Artan, adding that, generally, poor rains, late-onset, coupled with other non-climatic drivers like COVID-19, economic shocks, and conflict present poor prospects for farming across the region.

He called for concerted efforts aimed at ensuring that the vulnerable communities are cushioned against the adverse effects of the drought.

“Cumulatively the region has been facing rainfall deficits adding that this will be compounded by non-climatic shocks like Covid-19 and conflicts which could worsen the food security situation in the region,” he said.

The climate scientists from the Greater Horn of Africa countries of; Burundi, Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania and Uganda warned that 2021 is expected to continue to be, a drier than usual year for the majority of the region.

According to the scientists, observations of rainfall over the past months reveal that the region has been facing rainfall deficits in many parts of central and southern East Africa “and this is forecasted to continue until December 2021.”

Noting that the start of the season is expected to be delayed by up to two weeks, especially over eastern Kenya and southern Somalia, Dr Artan said that the forecast indicates that South Sudan, north-western Uganda, and south-western Ethiopia could receive over 200 and 300 mm during the entire season.

“Besides the dry conditions, warmer than usual temperatures are expected across the region,” said Dr Artan and added that in particular in eastern Kenya to Somalia, eastern parts of Ethiopia, and eastern Sudan are expected to experience dry conditions.

The dry conditions are attributed to the negative Indian Ocean Dipole which is drawing the moisture away from the region.

A positive IOD is what encourages rainfall in the Horn of Africa region during the short rains season of October, November and December. When there is a negative IOD the opposite happens where there is reduced rainfall in the region.

The Climate Scientists indicate that the OND season shows that the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the negative IOD is expected to interact with regional circulation patterns in a way that typically depresses seasonal rainfall in the region.

Source: NAM News Network