Hiiraan Online

By Ali Osman

Thursday, July 22, 2010

If United Nations failed to prevent the mass-indiscriminate bombing slaughter of 20,000 Somali civilians since the beginning of 2007, its sister agencies equally failed its responsibility to the Somali humanitarian and political crisis. Donor nations channel aid destined for Somalia through UN Agencies like United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), World Healthy Organization Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office (WHO-EMRO) and United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). The failure of the UN agencies responsible for Somalia is having tragic consequences for the millions who are expecting their services.

The UN offices for Somali have done very little in food, healthy, formal & higher education sectors. In fact, on the education and healthcare front, it is fair to say they virtually done nothing to alleviate the healthy and education crisis happening in Somalia. 

Take for example, Benadir University.  Benadir U is situated in Mogadishu the war ravaged capital of Somalia and is one of the largest universities in Somalia with over 2600 full time students. Out of 2600 students 50 are in medical and surgery. Benadir U is in the intersection of education, healthcare, gender equality, war, suicide bombing and institution building.  The teaching hospitals connected to Benadir U receive more trauma patients than anywhere else on the planet.  The university is home to ex-professors of now defunct former Somali National University. The University has faculties of Medicine, Engineering, Computer Science/IT, Education, and Sharia & Law.  The Benadir University along with Mogadishu University produce majority of the primary and secondary teachers in Somalia. Benadir U was a victim of suicide bombing recently. Many students and professors were killed including one of the founding fathers of the University Dr.Mohamed Aden Warsame Shahiid along with the Minister of education, minister of health, minister of higher education and minister of sports and youth. The dean of the medical school Dr: Mohamed Mohamoud Hassan and many senior professors and lecturers were severely injured and are receiving life saving operations in Saudi Arabia.

Benadir University has more female students than it has in male students. The medical school in its first 12 years of operation has produced 40 doctors of which half are female. These doctors are working and performing live saving operations in places like Mogadishu, Balad Weyne, Galkaio, Bay Dhabo, Kismayo, Dusamareb, Adado & Elbur.  They are the backbone of all the major hospitals such as SOS village, Benadir Hospital, Kaysane Hospital, Daynile Hospital, Medina Hospital, Hayat Hospital & Aden Adde Hospital and other INGOs & LNGOs.

The number of UN agencies on the ground (UNESCO, UNICEF, WHO-EMRO, UNICEF, UNDP and UNFPA and WFP) and the vital role Benadir University plays in healthy, education and rebuilding and unfortunate added tragedy of suicide bombing, one would expect, UN agencies will reach out to them.  But, no UN agency has tried to assist or inquiry about their crisis. In fact, a call to the University administration regarding this article, confirmed that several requests made by Benadir University to UN agencies went unanswered.

United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) for Somalia acts the de facto Somali Ministry of Health (MOH).  Funding from donor nations for healthy, education, nutrition, shelter are under the UNICEF Somalia office. They have done extremely poor job in doing something in this area. UNICEF is coming short in supporting the most critical needs for children; education, nutrition and healthy. Nurses and trained healthy workers are in short supply. The healthy workers from the previous regime are ageing and not enough healthy workers are trained to replace them. Malnutrition and children without access to basic education are skyrocketing. UNICEF is not doing enough to protect the most vulnerable such as children, women, and old. It is not doing enough in the areas of education, nutrition, and shelter.

 If UN agencies are not assisting one of the biggest universities in its moment of tragedy and hospitals overwhelmed by trauma patients with medicine, diagnostic equipment, books, teacher trainings, logistics, transportation, communications, energy assistance and food-for-work programme then what programs are they funding? What about schools and other health institutions elsewhere? The Somali crisis presents a test for UN agencies and they are miserably failing. Their failure is not only defeat and misery for Somalia but humanity at large.

The UNESCO programme and budget, 2010-2011; is pronounced “…Gender equality has been identified as a global priority at various United Nations conferences and summits. UNESCO will reinforce its action in favor of gender equality ….. Particular attention will be paid to the pursuit of the objective of gender equality through two mutually reinforcing approaches: firstly, ensuring full implementation of the gender mainstreaming strategy in all major programmes; secondly, ensuring that the specific needs of women and girls are addressed through gender-specific initiatives, especially at the country level.” 

Where is the focus on equality of gender here in Somalia? Benadir University’s 2600 students more than half are female and they are struggling paying tuition fees that are extremely low in any standard, what has UN agencies such as UNESCO done to help gender equality?

The UNDP also claims to “…encourage the protection of human rights and the empowerment of women.” It states “UNDP is the UN's global development network, an organization advocating for change and connecting countries to knowledge, experience and resources to help people build a better life. We are on the ground in 166 countries, working with them on their own solutions to global and national development challenges”

The UNDP is not in the areas of development when it comes to Somalia. The Somali educators have done exceptional job in taking responsible and commendable steps to alleviate the suffering of the population, especially in the areas of education and healthy, but the UN agencies are not there as a partners to help.

UN agencies such as UNESCO, UNICEF, WHO EMRO, UNDP and WFP food-for-work programme can assist in myriad of ways. For example WFP food-for-work programme can assist in helping students with food aid as food is major expense for families struggling with school fees. UNESCO could assist with labs, books, libraries, teacher training, equipment and subsidies in teacher salaries. WHO EMRO could assist the medical field and medical schools in equipment, transportation. It can provide medicine to teaching hospitals with extreme shortage of critical medicine. The UNDP could assist in the areas of transportation, communication, technology and energy especially solar energy for universities.

As the case in Benadir University highlights, the UN Agencies failures are serious in nature and can damage the credibility and good name of the United Nations as a whole.  The United Nations should appoint credible inquiry-committee to review the work of UN agencies offices for Somalia. There are credible evidences that corruption, bribery, and nepotism are present and preventing the UN agencies in preventing humanitarian crisis of the century.  Given the gravity and magnitude of the humanitarian crisis and tragedy of Somalia, it demands the best and brightest UN bureaucrats to lead the offices and not incompetent officials cycled through the system. The UN failed to put in place a system of checks and balances to stem corruption and inefficiencies at UN agency-offices for Somalia. Due to the climate they are operating, they are vulnerable for corruption, bribery, nepotism and ineffective leadership and cannot be relied to monitor themselves.

It is about time that the UN agencies for Somalia take their responsibility seriously, and assist areas they are capable of having a real impact. The lion’s share of aid destined for Somalia are channeled through the UN agencies and there are serious failures in the area of education, healthy, rebuilding and preventing child malnutrition and disease. The leadership of the UN organization’s higher echelon should not think Somalia is far removed from their offices in New York and Paris. If nothing is done, and done soon, it will come home to roost.

By Ali Osman
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