Mogadishu - Four Federal Member States of Galmudug, Jubaland, Hirshabelle, and South West State in Somalia have improved their drought and emergency response coordination as a result of support provided by IOM, the UN Migration Agency, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The ongoing drought affecting Somalia has led to the displacement of some one million people within the last 12 months, bringing the total number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) in the Federal Member States to over two million.

The majority of IDPs live in collective sites or with host communities in urban areas, often facing harsh conditions with limited access to basic services, precarious physical security, and increased exposure to gender-based violence (GBV). A Drought Impact Needs Assessment—carried out by the Federal Government in 2017, with the support of the UN, World Bank and EU, found USD 1.7 billion in recovery needs across Somalia as a result of drought. Municipal support for displaced persons is one of the sectors with the highest level of needs.

Under a year-long project, IOM and UNDP provided technical support and expertise to regional government-led Drought Response Committees, district administrations and other disaster management institutions in the four Federal Member States, improving the information flow and enhancing cooperation between Federal Government and each State on drought and emergency response.
The support provided includes the appointment of eight Somali experts on drought coordination, early recovery and information management to each State, as well as data collection.

Ridwaan Abdi, Director of the National Humanitarian Coordination Center (NHCC) of the Federal Ministry for Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, thanked IOM and UNDP for supporting greater coordination and information sharing among Federal Member States, and between the Member States and the Federal Government.

“Such local capacity investments are highly appreciated,” Abdi added. “Considering the current alarming humanitarian situation in the country and the need for good coordination and information, the Federal Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs & Disaster Management (MoHADM) supports the continuation of this project and would also like to see teams of experts utilized more in Federal Member State Line Ministries.”  

Representatives attending the event from Galmadug, Jubaland, Hirshabelle and South West State also underscored the important achievement of bringing key stakeholders together in the same room, and reiterated the need for further collaboration to find long term solutions to drought response.

Jennifer Pro, IOM Somalia’s Drought Response Coordinator, explained: “This project has been instrumental in strengthening coordination gaps and identifying potential areas of support, as well as facilitating discussions on early recovery and longer-term resilience building. IOM is committed to supporting the Federal Government and Member States in better responding to the immediate and long term needs of drought and emergency affected populations.” 

Abdul Qadir, UNDP Somalia Climate Resilience Portfolio Manager, said climate change and drought response is a vital issue for Somalia, explaining “Different studies show that this particular region will be 3.2 centigrade hotter by 2080, and one of the best ways to adapt to climatic events is through joint initiatives like this one.”

“UNDP will continue to partner with our government counterparts and other UN agencies to strengthen disaster coordination and information management systems in Somalia at both Federal and State levels,” Qadir added.

IOM and UNDP work to support the Government of Somalia and the Member States in building long term resilience and response to cyclical drought and emergencies, through water infrastructure, climate adaption, disaster management, durable solutions and life-saving humanitarian response projects across the country.

For more information please contact Yuko Tomita, Programme Support Coordinator, IOM Somalia:  Email:  ytomita@iom.int, or Keelin FitzGerald, Communications Specialist, UNDP Somalia. Email: keelin.fitzgerald@undp.org