Providing urgent support to drought-affected communities in Somalia
In 2023, Somalia was experiencing one of the world’s worst hunger crises after its worse drought in four decades. While increases in aid at the end of 2022 diverted fears of a repeat of the famine of 2011 - when an estimated 260,000 people died – the country continues to face crisis levels of hunger. Rainfall has not been enough to break the hunger crisis in Somalia, with the prolonged drought ruining the soil, making it difficult to absorb rain to be able to grow crops and leading to devastating flash floods following heavy rains that destroyed even more homes and livestock.
Why Somali children needed urgent support
Somali children are particularly vulnerable to acute malnutrition and related health complications due to widespread food insecurity and the collapse of essential services. The drought not only deprived families of their livelihoods but also heightened the risks of child abuse, exploitation, and neglect. Urgent support was crucial to protect these children, ensuring they had access to nutritious food, medical care, and a safe environment.
Save the Children’s food security response programme in Galkayo and Burao districts
Save the Children New Zealand, in partnership with local organisations, initiated a comprehensive support programme for drought-affected communities in the Galkayo and Burao districts. The programme provided six months of unconditional cash transfers to 510 vulnerable households, enabling them to purchase essential food and meet other basic needs. This immediate financial assistance helped stabilise the affected families, preventing further erosion of their coping capacities and offering them a chance to rebuild their lives amidst the crisis.
Additionally, the programme helped address protection risks by establishing and training community-based structures to prevent and respond to violence against children and gender-based violence.
The endline evaluation of Save the Children’s intervention shows a significant positive impact on the targeted households. The proportion of households with an acceptable food consumption score increased from 35% to 44%, and the reliance on negative coping strategies decreased from 26.3% to 25.2%. Furthermore, there was a notable improvement in the community’s overall sense of well-being, with 68.4% of households expressing a feeling of improved well-being compared to 28.5% at the baseline. These results highlight the effectiveness of the cash transfers and community-based protection initiatives in enhancing food security and resilience.
Who makes our programme possible
Our response in Somalia is made possible through the generous support of the New Zealand Disaster Response Partnership, alongside our donors, partners, and dedicated team members.
Local partners, including the NAGAAD Network (a voluntary network bringing together 46 women’s organisations in Somaliland) and The Asha Gelle Foundation, play vital roles in implementing the protection components and coordinating with local communities.
Save the Children works in partnership with the Federal Government of Somalia.
