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With 19 million people in the areas at risk of drought, with many of those same families still recovering from the extended drought from 2020—2023, the World Food Programme (WFP) is preparing for and has activitated several anticipatory actions.
In anticipation of the La Niña-induced drought in the Somali region during the October–December 2024 season, the WFP, with the leadership of the Somali Disaster Risk Management Bureau (DRMB), has activated Anticipatory Actions (AA) designed to safeguard people's lives and livelihoods. WFP has triggered these actions in September across 15 woredas in the Somali region based on vulnerability analysis: Aware, Ayun, Bokh, Daror, Dolo Ado, Dolobay, Ferfer, Galadi, Gashamo, Horshagah, Lagahida, Mustahil, Raso, Wangey, and Warder.
The July 2024 forecast showed that the Somali region’s OctoberDecember and March-May rain-benefiting woredas met the minimum moderate drought scenario threshold. Out of 76 woredas, 49 met the threshold to trigger Anticipatory Actions for severe drought scenarios, while the remaining 26 fell into the moderate scenario. The August update (two-month lead time) confirmed activation for moderate drought across all woredas, with 31 meeting the severe scenario.
WFP is implementing the following Anticipatory Actions in consultation with the Somali Region technical working group :
1) Dissemination of early warning messages and advisories to inform communities about drought risk management strategies and actions to protect their livelihoods, food and nutrition security. Forecasts from the Ethiopian Meteorological Institute (EMI) are translated into actionable advisories, enabling communities to prepare and make risk- informed decisions. The information is shared through district and kebele (sub-district) early warning committees in local languages as well as radio and TV channels.
2) Distribution of multi-purpose cash transfers to vulnerable pastoral and agro-pastoral to stabilize purchasing power, enabling access to food and essential needs ahead of the forecasted drought. Each household receives USD 228.27 over three months (USD 76.09 per month), based on the transfer value set by the Somali Region Cash Working Group, in conjunction with the Ethiopia Cash Working Group. This translates to approximately ETB 7,700 per month.
3) Rangeland management, fodder production and provision of feed voucher as they are the main source of feed for the animals in the Somali Region, supporting the vulnerable communities to produce fodder. These are strategic approaches designed to proactively manage and optimize livestock feed availability in the face of the forecasted drought.
4) Rehabilitation of water structures so that communities maintain water volume and quality for household use, livestock, and agriculture.
This proactive and collaborative implementation has been made possible through the Governments of Germany and Denmark's multi-year funding and investments in anticipatory action systems. With a total cost of USD 6.6 million, this activation empowers targeted communities to make informed decisions, enabling them to mitigate the impact of the forecasted drought and protect both their lives and livelihoods.