| Administrative History | Allocations 1952-1977, 1980-1992; programme spending in 1993/94, 1994/95; see later annual reports for any further allocations.
SCF gave aid to Abyssinian (Ethiopian) refugees at the Manjaseh camp in British Somaliland in 1936, following the Italian invasion of Abyssinia (Ethiopia). This included contributions to the cost of milk and food for children at the camp. The refugees were evacuated in 1940 following the outbreak of war with Italy. Between 1940 and 1941 the British protectorate of Somaliland was occupied by the Italians who also ruled Italian Somaliland. The province was liberated in 1941, in 1960 both areas became independent and united in the republic of Somalia.
SCF first worked in British Somaliland on the invitation of the protectorate government in May 1951, following a visit to the area by the SCF's medical adviser, Dr Leslie Housden. A welfare worker was sent out and a school for abandoned boys was set up in Hargeisa in 1952. In 1952 local SCF committees were set up and by 1954 they were contributing to the upkeep of the school. In autumn 1958 a Somali took over the administration of the school, which continued to be supported by SCF until 1977. In April 1965, there was a minor famine crisis and SCF provided £1,000 in relief aid.
In 1980 and 1981, SCF sent teams to help with the influx of refugees from the Ogaden region of Ethiopia. Aid was also given to the local hospital at Boroma. In 1983, SCF signed an agreement with the Somali government and UNICEF to establish a local health care programme, and in the same year, refugee health care was handed over to local workers. In 1984, the Boroma Hospital which SCF had helped to rehabilitate, was badly damaged by bombing. 1985 saw a dramatic increase in the numbers of refugees from Ethiopia, and SCF was one of the first agencies to start work at the Gannex reception centre. The primary health care work at Boroma was handed over and a similar project was established Lughaya. SCF also provided technical advisers to help implement the Expanded Programme of Immunisation. In 1986 SCF provided medical care at Tugwajalle refugee camp, and helped with the transfer of the camp to Daawalle in 1987. SCF gave assistance to the Boroma hospital and Hargeisa Nurse Training School. In 1988 Mother and Child Health programmes were started at Mogadishu but disrupted by conflict. In 1990 the government collapsed and there was a general breakdown in the administration of the country, with different areas being ruled by armed factions. SCF participated in drought relief work, setting up feeding centres in 1991. This work expanded in 1992 as conflict increased and SCF work also involved aid to Somali refugees in Ethiopia and Kenya. Food and other aid was distributed in Somaliland, where a helicopter survey looked at emergency nutrition requirements. |