Photo Credit: Refugees International
03/08/2008

Somalia is without a doubt the most neglected crisis in the world today. Over the past seventeen years, Somalia has been subject to ongoing civil wars, droughts and floods. Most observers agree that the crisis has never been as acute as it is today. The immense gap between the level of need and the corresponding humanitarian response is striking. Agencies struggle to provide food, water, health care, and other basic assistance to one million internally displaced people because of the worsening security crisis. Additionally, their own bureaucracies have not sufficiently adapted to the ground realities of this situation. Further complicating matters, the official Somali government propped up by the international community is viewed as illegitimate by its own people.