Turkish Ngos Distribute Humanitarian Aid To Somalia

Turkish humanitarian relief agencies are planning to distribute much-needed food and water aid to drought-stricken Somalia, according to the agencies' websites.



The Turkish Red Crescent is planning to dispatch some 12,000 tons of humanitarian aid to the region.



Since 2011, the organization has sent humanitarian aid to Somalia 20 times. Some 70,000 tons of aid packages have been sent to the region to date, and a shelter was set to accommodate some 30,000 destitute people as well.



The agency is also cooperating with the Qatar Red Crescent in building roads.



The foundation aims to reach 18,000 needy families in Somalia, Kenya, Ethiopia, and South Sudan, the group said in a statement Monday. The agency has already sent packages of essential food aid to thousands of drought-stricken residents of Somalia.



The Turkey Diyanet Foundation, a group affiliated to the state Religious Affairs Directorate, has handed out 1,500 packages of food aid to needy families in the Shirwac, Arra'ad, and Togdheer regions of Somaliland, an autonomous region of Somalia.



The foundation plans to send aid to more than 5,500 families in Somali cities such as Mogadishu, Garbaharrey, Bardera, Bosaso, Qardho, and Baidoa, the statement added.



The relief agency is involved in setting up wells able to store 30 tons of water in Banaadir in the southeast, Galmudug in central Somalia, and Awdal in Somaliland.



Turkish aid agency IHH last weekend distributed packages full of relief materials to almost 9,000 Somalis.



The agency also provided fresh water to some 150,000 Somalis and 5,000 food packages to 40,000 needy people across the country.



IHH Emergency Aid teams are working in Somalia to prevent deaths due to famine and disease, according to its website.



The Somali government has declared the country's looming famine a national disaster.



At least half of Somalia's population are in need of emergency humanitarian support, as the drought there is the worst since 1945, according to the United Nations.



The drought hit at least 11 of Somalia's 18 regions including the worst-affected Bay region, where at least 110 people died from hunger and a cholera outbreak in March. -