EUTM SOMALIA CIMIC TEAM DISTRIBUTES FOOD AID.

Somalia.

During recent weeks the Multinational CIMIC Group cell deployed in Mogadishu distributed 14 tons of food aid to around 1,200 displaced people, mostly families currently located in camps in the Dharkeyneley and Shingani districts, located in the Banadir region. The aid, able to feed the beneficiaries for about a month, was delivered at the request of the District Commissioners, who are responsible for identifying the needs and managing the requests of citizens residing in their respective districts. The city of Mogadishu is divided into 17 such districts.

It was thanks to the intimate knowledge and direction provided by Mr. Aweis Sheik Mohamed, District Commissioner Shingani, and Mr. Guhaad Sheikh Hassan, District Commissioner Dharkeynley, that it was possible to identify the families most in need to allocate help. Each single "kit" consists of about 100 kg of food material including flour (25 kg), rice (25 kg), sugar, legumes, oil and other basic necessities.

The hand over ceremonies took place in two locations, for the Dharkeyneley District at EUTM-S Headquarters and for Shingani at District Commissioner's office. Several authorities were present, among them there was Mrs. Basma Amir Ahmed, the Deputy Mayor of Mogadishu who is responsible for Social Affairs, who took the opportunity to express words of gratitude towards the "the Italian government which has always shown particular closeness to the Somali population".

The Ambassador of Italy to the Somali Federal Republic, H.E. Alberto Vecchi, was also present and underlined Italy's commitment to helping the Somali population not only in the field of security. The Ambassador stated "the event is of particular importance for two reasons, the first essentially concrete, as food is essential for life, the second symbolic, because food is also something that is shared with friends, and therefore represents the oldest way to demonstrate peace and friendship between those who give it and those who receive it”.

The most important military authority present, the Commander of EUTM-S, Brigadier General Fabiano Zinzone, greet all the representatives of the various local authorities who cooperated by giving feedback on the most pressing needs.

Due to the worsening food situation in several districts, since June 2020, the CIMIC Operators in close cooperation with other international actors planned a series of activities in order to support Somali populations. The humanitarian project has been possible thanks to the liaison activity carried out by the CIMIC specialists composed of personnel from the Multinational CIMIC Group, the only unit in Italy with these specialists.