Senators Coons and Kerry urge administration to expand licensing of aid providers in Somalia

Just days after chairing a hearing of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on African Affairs looking into the growing famine and drought crisis in the Horn of Africa, Senator Coons joined Senate Foreign Relations Chairman John Kerry today in calling for the administration to license additional humanitarian groups to distribute aid in Somalia.

“In the Horn of Africa today, over 12 million people are in desperate need of food and water amidst the worst drought in three generations,” the two senators said in a joint statement.  “In Somalia alone, approximately 3.2 million people are in need of immediate life-saving assistance, half a million children are acutely malnourished, and more than 29,000 children under the age of 5 have tragically died.  The drought has blasted an already hostile landscape, but the actions of the terrorist group al-Shabaab and the shortcomings of the Somali government have turned a natural disaster into a human catastrophe.”

Hundreds of thousands of Somalis, displaced by years of civil war, already live in difficult conditions in Ethiopia, Kenya, Djibouti, Uganda, and Eritrea, and they have been hard hit by the famine and drought.  For Somalis still living in areas controlled by al-Shabaab, limited access by international aid organization has made it extremely difficult both to measure the famine’s effects and provide assistance.  For years the United States has maintained tight restrictions on American organizations operating in areas under al-Shabaab control, due to the groups designation as a terrorist organization.  While praising the administration’s efforts, both senators believe more can be done to ease suffering while preventing aid from ending up in the hands of the al-Shabaab. 

“We encourage the administration to consider additional ways to ease and expedite the provision of aid. Specifically, it should explore expanding the pool of those licensed to provide assistance in southern Somalia to include U.S. humanitarian groups funded by private donors or other countries. While it is absolutely imperative to restrict the flow of resources to al-Shabaab, we must draw on all available resources as we balance security concerns with pressing humanitarian needs.”