Somalia
Drought, 15 Jul 2020
| Allocation | $14,990,014 |
|---|---|
| Emergency type | Drought |
| Window | Rapid Response |
| Recipient UN Agencies | FAO, IOM, UNHCR, UNICEF, WFP, WHO |
| Group(s) of people targeted | Host communities, Internally displaced persons, Other affected persons |
| People reached | 638,718 |
| Status | Completed |
| Due dates | | |
| Allocation code | 20-RR-SOM-44036 |
| Title | Somalia RR Application Jul 2020 (Anticipatory Action) |
Overview of the humanitarian situation
Somalia expects to see its severely food insecure population triple to 3.5 million between July and September, up from 1.15 million at the start of 2020, due to the cumulative impacts of desert locust infestations, flooding, and COVID-19. This represents 22 per cent of the total Somali population, thereby exceeding the threshold established for the activation of the Anticipatory Action Framework that was designed in 2019. Intensified rainfall during the current Gu season caused severe riverine and flash flooding in April and May across many parts of Somalia and affected an estimated 1 million people, including 412,000 displaced people. The floods inundated and affected crops on close to 50,000 hectares of farmland in southern-central Somalia, which represents one sixth of the total land cultivated across Somalia each season. Gu rains also produced conducive conditions for additional desert locust reproduction, with the ongoing upsurge in Somalia estimated to be the worst in at least 25 years. The flooding has also led to contamination of water sources in 23 districts in the country. According to WHO’s epidemiological data for 2020, there have been 4,834 acute watery diarrhea cases, the majority in Banadir region but also in Hiran, Middle and Lower Shabelle and Bay regions. The situation can quickly escalate due to movement restrictions and a lack of basic goods and services. COVID-19 is further disrupting many aspects of life and trade that underpin food security in Somalia, including food prices, remittances and livestock trade. In line with global trends, the price of imported foods is likely to increase by 20 to 30 per cent, while local food prices have already risen. Purchasing power will decline as COVID-19 causes a reduction in incomes, which is in addition to income and production losses during the Gu season. Remittance flows are expected to fall 30 to 50 per cent through September and a similar decline is expected for livestock exports between June and August due to the cancellation of Hajj activities in Saudi Arabia. As of 24 June 2020, 2,878 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed with 90 deaths further straining the country's fragile health care system. Partners report that the number of people visiting health centers for routine care has significantly dropped due to fear of contracting the virus as well as lack of public transport or other means to access facilities.
CERF-funded assistance
On 19 June, Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC) Mark Lowcock activated the Somalia Anticipatory Action Framework on a pilot basis and agreed to release up to $15 million from the CERF to deliver more effective, timely and dignified humanitarian assistance to vulnerable communities in anticipation of the compounding effects of desert locusts, COVID-19 and flooding in Somalia (the ‘triple shock’). The anticipatory action framework was developed in 2019 to anticipate an out-of-the-ordinary drought shock; it combines three pre-agreed components: forecast and triggers, anticipatory actions, and finance. Food insecurity projections were selected as a proxy indicator for extreme drought to trigger the framework. However, these unprecedented times require unprecedented agility and adaptability. While the situation in Somalia is a result of the compounding effects of the triple shock, food insecurity projections still show a significant deterioration, warranting the exceptional activation of the anticipatory mechanism and the mitigating actions it foresees. From the pre-agreed Anticipatory Action Plan, the Somalia Humanitarian Country Team and clusters prioritized a comprehensive package consisting of health, food security, water and sanitation, nutrition and protection assistance for the $15 million CERF allocation. These include preventing declining food consumption and livelihood loss of 150,000 households by vaccinating of 6 million goats and controlling 20,000ha affected by desert locusts; providing preventive and curative health assistance for over 200,000 Somalis – including 7,205 pregnant and lactating women and 40,000 children under the age of 1 through deployment of rapid response teams, training of health personnel, procurement of medical supplies, vaccination, malaria prophylaxis and spraying; giving over 200,000 vulnerable persons access to clean water to mitigate health and nutrition deterioration through rehabilitation of 30 boreholes and 73 shallow wells, disinfection of 288 wells and distribution of 16,000 hygiene kits; providing nutrient supplements to 120,500 children and 5,700 pregnant and lactating women to circumvent increased cases of acute malnutrition and excess mortality; and deploying protection monitors to ensure safe, dignified, equitable and meaningful access to humanitarian assistance and essential services. This allocation is an important contribution to saving lives – and will serve as an opportunity to learn and demonstrates the value of triggering pre-agreed plans to reduce suffering and costs.