SOMALIA REVIEW - APRIL 2000

Bossaso Office  Northeast Zone of Somalia 

General situation

Security: The zone was relatively calm during the reporting period. UN staff
travelling to Allula, Eil and Bandar Beila districts still require prior
security clearance.


Water: Many parts of Puntland continued to experience a water shortage
following failure of rains.  According to travelers to Mudug and parts of
Sool region, the shortage is beginning to bite. Some small rains have been
reported in isolated areas, including Burtinle.

Accident: On 16 April a vehicle carrying UNICEF staff from a seminar in
Galkaio was involved in an accident some 160 km from Bossaso near Qayadsame village.
UNICEF staffers Dr Abdulrahman Yusuf Muse and Hodan Mire Ismael and the
driver sustained injuries in the accident. Hodan Mire was later evacuated to
Nairobi, Kenya, for further medical examination.

Economy: The exchange rate of the shilling to the dollar increased to 10,600
from 8,600 resulting in high prices of commodities.

Programme activity

Health: UNICEF distributed medical supplies to Gardo, Bender Beila and
Iskushuban districts. A joint Ministry of Social Affairs (MOSA) and UNICEF
mission distributed other supplies to health facilities in Bossaso district.

Celebrations: World Health Day was marked in Bossaso on 7 April. The main
celebrations were held at the Nursing Training Centre. This year's theme was
"Safe blood starts with me". Representatives of MOSA, UNICEF and WHO
delivered speeches. A local drama group recited poems and staged a play.

UNICEF provided refreshments for participants and will supply a
refrigerator to assist in the establishment of the Bossaso Hospital Blood Bank.

A six-day workshop for medical doctors from Puntland on the management of
sexually transmitted diseases was held in Galkaio. The workshop had about 20
participants.

Water and Environmental Sanitation (WES): UNICEF continued to support
rehabilitation and construction of new water projects. The rehabilitated
works are Bur-Salah and Rako borewells. The Ceel Dofar and Jeded borewells are
yet to be completed.

Hand pumps: UNICEF procured construction materials for hand-dug wells in  and
supplied a pump for Ba'ad Weyn village. It also delivered hose pipes to
improve drainage of canals in Garowe.

Environmental sanitation: UNICEF distributed sanitation tools to two
internally displaced persons' (IDP) camp in Bossaso. As part of the school
sanitation and hygiene programme, UNICEF signed agreements with five schools in Bossaso for
distribution of sanitation tools and set up water and environmental
sanitation committees in the schools. UNICEF also supplied chlorine and other
supplies for treatment of drinking water to Medecins Sans Frontieres - Holland in
Galkaio. Various agreements were negotiated.

Bossaso Water Project (BWP): Tests were carried out on the water system. UNICEF has implemented the project with Dutch government support. Specifications and drawing up of the bill of quantities for phase two of the project was completed. UNICEF finally handed over the system to the local administration, which in turn handed over the system to a private company, the Golden Utilities Management Company that will run the Bossaso Water System.

Education: UNICEF trained teachers in the use of education kits and education
management information systems (EMIS). UNICEF in collaboration with African
Action Hilfe (AAH), a German NGO, and UNESCO, provided similar training
to 61 teachers from seven schools in Gardo town and 88 teachers from 16 schools in
Nugal region. Some 22 teachers from 11 schools in Bossaso and Gardo and 87
teachers from 15 schools in Mudug region also received the training. UNICEF
distributed education supplies to 49 schools in Bari, Nugal and Mudug

Library: Construction of Bossaso Library started with UNICEF support. The
library is part of UNICEF's Youth Education, Development and Protection
(YEDP) programme.

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UNCT Somalia Monitor Apr 2000

MACRO-ECONOMIC 
     ...  Two other key factors in reviewing the economy are livestock
exports and remittances:

                Livestock: last year was affected by the ban imposed by
Saudi Arabia on Somalia animals. This years exports have increased, particularly due to the
lifting of the ban allowing traders to profit from the peak demand of the Hadj and Ramadan season. For example, last year some 635,991 shoats and 39,963 hides were exported through Bossaso. In
the first two months those figures are 283, 755 and 38,600 respectively. Somaliland has
managed to export 2,048,136 shoats in 1999, most after the ban was lifted. In December alone,
it exported 347,441shoats. Questions now are being raised on the impact of the drought on
livestock and the economy in the north of Somalia. The drought in certain parts of the Horn of
Africa has destroyed livestock. This may have a serious impact on a northern Somalia economy
reliant on livestock exports. Until 1990, livestock contributed 40 percent of Gross Domestic
Product and livestock with bananas accounted for more than 90 percent of all exports. Now
that banana exports have ceased, livestock is the key commodity export in Somalia.
Although livestock export earnings are estimated to be less than $200 million (compared to
remittances - estimated to be $300-350 million) such exports have the most significant
multiplier effect on the economy.

                Remittances: particularly due to Ramadan and Id al Fitr and Id al Adha, it can be assumed that remittances have increased in the early part of 2000. However, all current analysis suggests that remittances mainly benefit urban and wealthier groups. 

DEVELOPMENT INTO SOMALIA

           Flights over Somalia 

Despite the absence of a central regulatory body, Somalia has a multitude of airlines which enter Somalia airspace either to destinations within Somalia, to locations around the Horn, or on overflights. 

Both the UNCAS and ECHO flights have subcontracted Airbridge for their air services. The two flights
mainly service the international community in Somalia. 

The UN Common Air Services has flights into Somalia to various regions throughout the week. A Caravan is based in Mandera that connects flights throughout southern and central Somalia including Baidoa, Bardera, Buuale, Merka, Jowhar and Belet Weyne. Merka and Baidoa are used as refueling bases for the Beech 1900 and King Air 200 aircraft which routes the northeast, northwest and main towns in south Somalia. UNHCR also run an aircraft out of Djibouti to service Hargeisa. UNCAS flights service the UN as a priority and also serves INGO and other partners. The system operates on the basis of cost-recovery. 

ECHO flights are specifically for EU/ECHO funded projects and they ply various routes in Somalia.
However, other international agencies also benefit from the service on a priority basis. ECHO flights
fleet include King Air BE 1900 and a Caravan. The King Airs are based in Nairobi and Hargeisa and
service the south and central zones of Somalia and the northern Somalia and Djibouti respectively.
Among the routes that ECHO operate and UNCAS is not present include Mogadishu, Kismayo
(normally), Djibouti and towns in Northeastern Kenya. 

There are also a number of privately owned airlines. Bluebird is an individually owned airline and is
based at the Wilson Airport. The flights are usually charted and transport khat to any location as
requested. Their usual routing is Nairobi - Mogadishu. Horn of Africa is also an individually owned
charter. They specialise in large aircraft, especially for cargo, and have aircraft with a capacity of up to
40 tonnes. The flights may also be chartered for passengers upon request. They are not restricted to
any routes. 

Other Somali owned or chartered air carriers provide an essential air link for passengers and cargo to
Somaliland and central regions. These include 'Daallo airline', 'Kilamanjaro', 'Somali Star', Air Djibouti and Djibouti Airlines, and Damal Airline. Regional Air, affiliated with Air Kenya, has just recently launched air services to Djibouti and will fly two times a week on Thursday and Sundays. In addition, there are private charters from Kenya, Djibouti and Yemen to keep Somalia in supply of khat. 

In another development, it is reported that discussions are well in advance between the Yemenia Airline and the Somaliland administration and significantly Yemenia is said to have received a green light from a British insurance company based in London to commence flights to Hargeisa. At present, there are no additional details as to when the services will begin, but it is expected to facilitate international travel to and from parts of Somalia. The Monitor understands that other
national airlines are in similar negotiations with the Somaliland administration. 


ICAO Mission: The Civil Aviation Caretaker Authority for Somalia is in the process of being evaluated
by an external evaluation team. The evaluation will assess the achievement of the project so far and will make recommendations to strengthen it in the future. The team visited Somalia between 17 and 22 April and met with the local civil aviation authorities. A preliminary report outlining the findings of the mission will be received by UNDP early next week. 

Vapour trails over the skies of Somalia: there has been a recent increase in the number of airlines,
including Yemeni Air, opening up routes to the region including Djibouti and Hargeisa. There are over
ten different airlines, including UNCAS and ECHO flights, which carry personnel and freight into
Somalia. This does not count for the numerous aircraft daily ferrying in bundles of khat from the
Kenyan and Ethiopian highlands. With transcontinental flights profiting from the 'gulf stream,' Somalia
skies are always busy and the UNDP/ ICAO programme is not only assisting local administrations
maintain airstrips within Somalia but also keeping those skies safe and trouble free (see below). 

Missions to Nairobi and Somalia: a UN Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) mission came to
Nairobi from April 16 - 20 to examine headquarters support to the field UN Country Teams. Mr Sigurd
lling, Regional Director in the European Commission in Brussels, visited Nairobi in the week of 10- 14
April.      

Somalia and small-arms: A joint ERD/UNDP Somalia assessment mission visited Puntland and
Somaliland to examine potential assistance to local administrations and communities to prevent and
reduce the proliferation of small-arms. Consultations were held with officials, NGOs, civil society
organisations and traditional leaders, in close co-ordination with the Somali Civil Protection Programme (SCPP). The purpose of the mission was to assess the scope of small arms components within or alongside the SCPP. The mission was a first step in a process to integrate small arms issues more strongly into UNDP programming, with possible support from the UNDP Trust Fund for the Prevention and Reduction of Small Arms Proliferation

    
Prepared by the United Nations Coordination Unit (UNCU), in collaboration with the Chief Security  Advisor. UN OCHA Integrated Regional Information Network for Central and Eastern Africa