Muslim nations pledge help for Somalia

UN humanitarian chief, Vaalerie Amos

Amos(Second Right), with some UN official inspecting a child affected by the famine

Muslim nations pledge help for Somalia

Muslim nations around the world have pledged to contribute 350 million dollars as aid for famine victims in Somalia.

This decision came as the United Nations appealed for 1.2 billion dollars for famine victims in Somalia and its Horn of Africa on Wednesday.

The head of the 57-nation Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, said the amount fell short of the 500 million dollars, which the group, known as the Islamic Conference, was aiming for. He however said he hoped that the figure would be reached with future pledges.

Appeal for more donors

In New York, UN humanitarian chief, Valerie Amos, who just returned from Somalia and Kenya, thanked donors who had already contributed a total of 1.3 billion dollars but said that UN needed nearly double that amount.

"We need to get more food and nutritional supplies, water, sanitation and hygiene equipment and medical care to those who are in desperate need," she said.

"We're faced with a still spreading famine in Somalia and with such a scale of suffering that every effort needs to be made and sustained in the months ahead. That's why we are still appealing for an additional 1.2 billion dollars. There are still many lives that need to be saved in the Horn of Africa," she appealed.

The agency also appealed for 45,000 more tents as it said that about 1,500 Somalis are arriving in Kenya every day and between 200 and 300 are arriving daily in Ethiopia.

Earlier, Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, urged rich nations in the West and in the Muslim world to come to Somalia's aid, saying they bore some responsibility for the crisis for ignoring the poverty in the country.

In his opening speech, Erdogan reminded the Muslims that Islam dictates "that you do not go to bed full if your neighbour is hungry."

"If we had fulfilled our responsibilities, would our brethren nation Somalia be in this situation?" he asked.

"This is a test for civilization, for wealthy countries, for G-20 members and countries where the (gross domestic product) per capita is 20, 30, 40 thousand dollars," he pleaded.

Reports had it that Turkey has collected about 110 million dollars as public donations for Somalia so far and has flown in several tons of food and medical aid.

Food security mechanism

Participants in the Islamic Conference's emergency, who met to discuss assistance to Somalia, agreed to form a "food security mechanism" that would be aimed at preventing similar crisis in the future.

More than 12 million people in the Horn of Africa need food aid, according to the United Nations.

The UN, humanitarian chief, Amos, told reporters that aid operations were reaching new areas. She said more than 500 nutrition centers were operating in al-Shabab controlled areas in southern Somalia.

She declared that Somalis still needed additional international help.

AP/Shakira/Williams