Page updated on 24/08/2009

Somalia faces a number of major obstacles to development: civil conflict, the lack of a fully functioning central government, and natural calamities such as drought and floods. In addition, the ongoing armed struggle has often prevented much-needed humanitarian assistance from reaching the population. Poverty has inevitably increased since the early 1990s and the collapse of the government and onset of civil war. About 43 per cent of the population lives in extreme poverty, or on less than $1 per day. This figure rises to 53 per cent in rural areas, where extreme poverty is more prevalent.

Health indicators for the population have shown a decline since 1991, an inevitable consequence of the collapse of public services and destruction of infrastructure. Child survival improved after the famine of the early 1990s, but is still low and has deteriorated since the end of the 1990s. Malnutrition continues to be prevalent throughout the country.

Poverty, in Somalia , is a way of life. People have been adjusting themselves to a situation of depriviation. Living with severe shortages in terms of basic services has become an accepted norm of life.

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