The Effects of War and Peace on Foreign Aid in Somalia

The unlawfulness in the country is to blame for the disruption of foreign aid by humanitarian organizations and nations of goodwill. Despite the fact that half of Somalia's population is in dire need of foreign assistance, there is still no favorable space for humanitarian aid. The Al-Shabaab militia has taken over some regions of Somalia, and most of these groups are not in favor of the distribution of foreign aid by WFP. The South of Somalia is one of the regions that have been severely hit by the famine experienced in 2011. People were dying due to hunger and cases of malnutrition. Consequently, people in these areas continued to lose their lives and the level of malnourishment heightened. The state of anarchy in Somalia provided a suitable environment for parties with selfish interests to take advantage of the aid brought into the country.

Aid workers who dared to report the malpractices were threatened, and some expelled from the humanitarian camps and the country as well (Ahmad, 2012). These parties made agreements with some leaders and militia officials to extort money and steal resources meant for charity work to enrich themselves. Other took advantage of the situation to get hold of the country’s natural resources and make wealth at the expense of the civilians Effects of Peace Although there continues to be disagreements and war between Al-Shabaab, the Somalia government and the AU soldiers in the region, the militias have since come to a compromise with some agencies. Neighboring countries such as Kenya and Ethiopia have been actively involved in the process of reinstating peace and the rule of law in Somalia.