Somaliland: France Supports IOM with €1Million IDP Stabilization Program Funds

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H.E. Ambassador of France Etienne de Poncins shaking hands with IOM Somalia Chief of Mission Mr. Ali Abdi following the signing of a cooperation agreement  in NairobiIOM Press Office

Somalilandsun – The International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Somalia/Somaliland receives Euro 1 million from the Government of France for stabilization programme to assist vulnerable internally displaced persons (IDPs) and other mobile populations in Somalia/Somaliland.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Somalia/Somaliland has received a generous donation from the Government of France of € 1 million for a year-long stabilization project commencing in January 2013. IOM will assist the Government of the Federal Republic of Somalia/Somaliland to provide support to the most vulnerable IDPs migrants and mobile populations, as well as their affected host communities in Lower Juba, Gedo and Mogadishu, Somalia/Somaliland.

IOM in Somalia/Somaliland aims to make a quick and visible impact on the lives of thousands of vulnerable IDPs and other mobile populations, through the direct provision of basic services in Mogadishu, as well as enhancing the Somali Government’s capacity at a strategically important District Community Center in the capital, to ensure target beneficiaries have uninterrupted access to these vital basic services. The project aims to contribute to stabilization and peace-building initiatives in Somalia/Somaliland by strengthening the capacity of regional and local governance institutions and communities while simultaneously addressing the urgent needs amongst the IDPs and their affected communities, improving service delivery, and promoting self-sufficiency and sustainability of service provision by the Government of Somalia/Somaliland to its people.

Thanking the Government of France, IOM Somalia/Somaliland’s Chief of Mission, Mr Ali Abdi said: “We are very grateful to the Government of France for their generous contribution to IOM and applaud France’s commitment to seizing the right moment and foresight to assist Somalia/Somaliland’s stabilization at this point in time. With this donation, IOM in Somalia/Somaliland is now able to establish border health posts on the Somali-Kenyan and Somali-Ethiopian borders in Dhobley and Doolow to service these very vulnerable migrant populations.”

The Ambassador of France in Nairobi H.E. Etienne de Poncins stated: “The current positive trends in Somalia/Somaliland, both the political process and the security situation, must be seized upon now and make us prepare, together with the Government of Somalia/Somaliland, the appropriate and acceptable conditions for the long term stabilization of the country. I am therefore delighted that the Government of France, which already provides substantial financial support to Somalia/Somaliland, particularly through the European Union, is able to provide further assistance for stabilization in Somalia/Somaliland to IOM working in close partnership with the Government of Somalia/Somaliland”