Mogadishu, Sep 3 (IANS): The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has called for sustained funding to enable aid agencies to scale up life-saving assistance in Somalia.

Adam Abdelmoula, Humanitarian Coordinator for Somalia, said in a statement issued here on Thursday that with limited resources and funding, humanitarian agencies need urgent support to provide timely response, reports Xinhua news agency.

Abdelmoula said as the Somalia Humanitarian Funding (SHF), a multi-donor country-based pooled mechanism that allocates funding for the most urgent life-saving interventions, said it has allocated $26 million to scale up assistance for about 1.2 million people in the country.

These critical funds, part of the SHF 2021 Reserve Allocation, will support national and international non-governmental partners operating in Banadir, Bay, Galgaduud, Gedo, Hiraan, Lower Juba, Middle Shabelle, and Mudug regions.

"This allocation will enable humanitarian agencies in Somalia to boost life-saving assistance to the most vulnerable communities in areas where needs are the highest," said Abdelmoula.

According to the OCHA, the $26 million allocation will provide strategic support for selected cluster-specific priorities and integrated interventions, focusing on areas with acute water shortages brought about by prolonged drought, as well as on flood-affected populations in hotspot locations.

It said close to two-thirds ($17 million) of the funding will support priority activities for food security, health, nutrition and Global WASH Clusters while about 36 per cent will bolster response to flood-affected people through integrated and complementary packages.

The UN said the 2021 Somalia Humanitarian Response Plan, which is seeking $1.09 billion, is only 41 per cent funded.

"With multiple shocks persistently causing high levels of humanitarian and protection concerns in Somalia, life-saving assistance must be sustained alongside livelihood support," said the OCHA.