World Bank Pledges U.S. $100 Million for Somalia

Somali President Hassan Shiekh Mohamud met with World Bank Country Manager Ms. Kristina Svensson at Villa Somalia on Thursday. The new president and the World bank’s official have discussed strengthening cooperation and support between the global lender and the Federal government of Somalia.

Svensson indicated that the World Bank will give Somalia $100 million during the next 12 months to address the government’s priorities. She has praised the President for his commitment to reform the finance sector of the country after three decades of conflict, piracy, and Al-Shabaab insurgency.
Mohamud outlined the Government’s commitment to improving social services and youth employment and called on the World Bank to work with the Government to modernize the Federal Government’s work process and services.

This comes after the UN report says 350,000 children could die from hunger in Somalia in three months due to the devastated drought in the country. The UN repeatedly asked the international community to immediately extend support to drought stricken areas in Somalia to save more lives.

Somalia is one of three countries in the Horn of Africa along with Ethiopia and Kenya where 23 million people are facing crisis levels of hunger – 4.6 times the population of Ireland. The United Nations has predicted that 350,000 children in Somalia could die from hunger by the end of the summer. Further delayed rains have exacerbated what was already the worst drought in four decades.