The World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for the Eastern Mediterranean is urgently appealing for US$ 6.42 million to sustain lifesaving health and nutrition interventions across Somalia, Sudan and Djibouti.

The appeal forms part of WHO’s US$ 25.4 million response to the Greater Horn of Africa (GHoA) Food Insecurity and Health Crisis, affecting 6 countries across the WHO Eastern Mediterranean and African regions.

The funding will enable WHO to sustain critical primary health care and lifesaving nutrition services, strengthen surveillance and early warning, maintain outbreak detection and response capacities, expand nutrition screening, support treatment and referral pathways at stabilization centres, strengthen community engagement and pre-position essential medicines, diagnostics and therapeutic supplies.

In Somalia, more than 6.5 million people are experiencing Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) Phase 3 (Crisis) or worse levels of food insecurity, and 1.8 million children are at risk of acute malnutrition. More than 3.5 million people remain displaced, and funding shortages have forced the closure of over 200 health facilities, severely limiting access to essential care. Recurrent outbreaks of cholera/acute watery diarrhoea (AWD), measles, malaria and other communicable diseases continue to place additional pressure on the already fragile health system.