STORY: On Hirshabelle visit, UN envoy to Somalia discusses

state-building, humanitarian situation and local support

TRT: 02:32
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LANGUAGE: ENGLISH NATURAL SOUND
DATELINE: 17/JULY/2019, JOWHAR, HIRSHABELLE, SOMALIA

SHOT LIST:

1. Wide aerial shot, Jowhar (Hirshabelle), Somalia

2. Wide shot, the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General (SRSG) James
Swan disembarking from the plane at Jowhar Airport. Various shots of UN
representative at the airport
3. Wide shot, SRSG James Swan on arrival with the President Mohamed Abdi Ware
and his cabinet during the welcoming protocol
4. SOUNDBITE: (English) James Swan, UN Secretary-General’s Special
Representative for Somalia
“It’s a true pleasure to visit Somalia’s newest federal member state and I must say I
am very impressed by the progress that the state has been able to achieve in just a
few years.”

5. Tilt shot, Jowhar UN Camp - UN flag

6. Wide shot, SRSG James Swan with President Mohamed Abdi Ware and his cabinet
holding consultative discussions
7. Close up shot, President Mohamed Abdi Ware and his cabinet
8. Close up shot, SRSG James Swan and the rest of the UN team at Jowhar with
President Mohamed Abdi Ware and his cabinet
9. SOUNDBITE: (English) James Swan, UN Secretary-General’s Special
Representative for Somalia
“We particularly agreed that good relations between the Federal Government of
Somalia and the federal member states are crucial to continued progress for the
people of Somalia.”

10. Wide shot, the SRSG James Swan during the tree planting session at the UN camp
in Jowhar
11. Wide shot, SRSG James Swan touring a Level 1 facility in Jowhar
12. SOUNDBITE: (English) James Swan, UN Secretary-General’s Special
Representative for Somalia
“We are looking forward to increasing our cooperation with the people and
government of Hirshabelle to implement the UNSOM mandate and also to ensure
that the activities of the entire UN family are having good effects here in Hirshabelle.
And I appreciated hearing some solid advice from the president as to how we can do
that yet better.”

On Hirshabelle visit, UN envoy to Somalia discusses state-building, humanitarian

situation and local support

Jowhar, 17 July 2019 – On his first visit to the state of Hirshabelle, the newly-
appointed United Nations envoy to Somalia touched upon the country’s state-
building process, local humanitarian needs and the world body’s assistance.

“We had encouraging and fruitful talks with President [Mohamed Abdi] Ware and his
cabinet on a wide range of issues, including the need to strengthen the state-
building process in Somalia,” the UN Secretary-General’s Special Representative for
Somalia, James Swan, told local media after meeting with the state’s leadership in
Jowhar, the capital.

“We particularly agreed that good relations between the Federal government and
the federal member states are crucial to continued progress for the people of
Somalia,” he added in the joint media encounter with President Ware.

“HirShabelle is on good terms with the federal government, and we have

emphasised the need to strengthen this relationship. We also hope the UN family in
Hirshabelle under the leadership of Mr. Swan, will continue undertaking
development programmes to support the people,” President Ware said.

Humanitarian concern
The UN Special Representative also expressed concern about the current food
security situation in Hirshabelle and its potential humanitarian impact.

“I am concerned about the humanitarian situation in light of the current food

security crisis, which affects about a quarter of Hirshabelle’s population,” Mr. Swan
remarked after meeting President Ware.

His remarks follow a recent report from the UN Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) that, due to poor rains experienced between April and
June in Somalia, a worsening food security situation in Somalia threatens more than
two million people.

“Out of 5.4 million expected to be acutely food insecure by July, 2.2 million will be in
severe acute food insecurity conditions… a 40 per cent increase from January this
year,” OCHA stated in its report.

As part of a response, the Federal Government of Somalia and the aid community
are implementing a $686 million plan, targeting 4.5 million people up to December
2019.

Greater cooperation

In his remarks, the UN official – who also heads the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia
(UNSOM) – flagged that the UN system in Somalia was looking forward to increasing
its cooperation with the people and government of Hirshabelle to implement
UNSOM’s mandate and also to ensure that the activities of UN agencies, funds and
programmes has a positive effect in Hirshabelle.

“I appreciated having some solid advice from the president as to how we can do
what better,” Mr. Swan said.

The UN is involved in a wide variety of activities in Hirshabelle ranging from the

development of institutional capacity to the provision of humanitarian assistance, as
well as the facilitation of political mediation, security sector reform and
infrastructure development.

The trip was Mr. Swan’s third visit to a federal member state since his arrival in
Somalia on 25 June, following trips to Puntland and Jubaland.

The UN Special Representative was accompanied on the trip by the senior officials
from the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the UN
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Takeshi Moriyama and
Edmore Tondhlana, respectively.

*****