MOGADISHU, Oct. 9 (Xinhua) -- The UN refugee agency on Tuesday decried underfunding for Somali refugees and other displacement situations across the Horn of Africa nation.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said the 522 million U.S. dollars required to alleviate the situation in Somalia is so far 37 percent funded.
"After decades of conflict, Somalis have made some progress, but the situation remains fragile and needs continued support," the UNHCR said in a statement.
"Failure to support refugees and host communities risks deterioration in humanitarian conditions, a perception of lack of support to host communities, and could precipitate returns before the Government of Somalia is ready to receive and absorb them," it added.
According to the UNHCR, more than a million Somali refugees are hosted in six countries and another 2 million are displaced inside the country.
It said the current insecurity caused by Islamic militant group al-Shabab remains a major concern in Somalia, limiting access and the ability to ensure effective protection monitoring.
The situation in Somalia remains one of the most protracted refugee situations in the world, with the internally displaced persons at an estimated number of 2.65 million (including 1.4 million people displaced due to the drought in 2016-2017), according to the UNHCR.
It said there are also some 820,000 Somali refugees in the Horn of Africa and Yemen, noting that it has so far voluntarily repatriated some 7,579 Somali refugees in 2018.
"Since the beginning of the assisted spontaneous returns program in December 2014 over 120,000 Somali refugees have returned to Somalia," said the agency.
Experts say that the continuing progress in the political and security stabilization of Somalia, along with growing pressures in hosting countries, makes it a critical moment to renew efforts to seek durable solutions for Somali refugees.
